Unilever Says Two Unions Accept Revised Pension Deal
12 April 2012 - 5:35PM
Dow Jones News
Unilever PLC (ULVR.LN) said Thursday that two unions have voted
to accept a revised pension scheme, which could end the threat of
further strike action against the consumer goods company.
The U.K.-based group said members of unions Unite and Usdaw
agreed to the changes, while the GMB is still balloting its
members.
Workers at the company carried out a program of rolling strikes
to protest against plans to scrap the company's final-salary
pension scheme. The walkouts hit production at some of Unilever's
key personal care and food brands including Dove, Marmite and PG
Tips.
In early December last year, more than 2,500 employees walked
out and created picket lines for a day at various sites around the
country--the first national strike in the company's history.
Unilever employs about 7,000 people in the U.K.
At the time, the unions maintained that Unilever's plans would
lead to pension losses of about 20% for most of its workers, but
some individuals would lose up to 40% of their retirement
income.
Unilever, the Anglo-Dutch maker of Ben & Jerry's ice cream,
Knorr soup and Bertolli olive oil spreads as well as a variety
household cleaning products, said the changes are necessary as
final-salary pensions are no longer viable for the company.
In April last year, it said it was closing the final-salary
pension plan to existing employees from July 2012. The revised
scheme is based on career-average salaries and contributions,
similar to those offered to new employees since 2008.
At 1441 GMT, Unilever shares were trading up 3 pence, or 0.2%,
at 2113 pence, in a higher London market.
-By Simon Zekaria, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 207 842-9410;
simon.zekaria@dowjones.com
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