Retired steelworkers call for pension parity with ex-mineworkers

Martin Shipton

Retired steelworkers who have not been fully compensated for the loss of their pensions when the company they worked for went bust have called on new Welsh Secretary Stephen Kinnock to finally deliver them justice.

When Cardiff firm Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) ceased trading in 2002, the workers initially believed their pension entitlements would be honoured.

But that turned out not to be the case, and nearly a quarter of a century later they are still campaigning for all their pensions to be fully indexed to inflation – a concession that successive governments have not been prepared to make.

Despite the UK Government’s introduction of the Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) and the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to provide some relief, contributions made by workers to their pensions before April 1997 have not been fully inflation proof. This has left many ASW pensioners out of pocket and unable to enjoy the secure retirement they were promised.

Now former ASW worker John Benson, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday and has been the most high profile of the campaigners has asked Mr Kinnock to take up their cause and help them achieve parity with retired mineworkers, who learned in late 2024 that they would be fully compensated for their pension losses.

In his letter to Mr Kinnock, Mr Benson stated: “First congratulations on becoming Welsh Secretary – a great honour.

“Is it possible you could support the former workforce at ASW Cardiff and others receive the pensions they fully paid for, and were told were sacrosanct no matter what difficulties their employer faced.

“They have been let down far too long, and need closure, as many have already passed away, and the vast majority who are still alive are in God’s waiting room. We never for one minute thought a Labour Party or Labour government would treat these decent hard working people, with so much unfairness for just playing by the rules.

“Labour has honoured the mineworkers’ pensions in full actuality by up to 130%. Why are Welsh steelworkers being treated so badly?”

Following an announcement in her first Budget in 2024 by the then Chancellor Rachel Reeves, more than 100,000 former mineworkers will receive £1.5bn of money that was kept from their pensions, overturning what was seen as an historic injustice and ensuring fair payouts for years to come.

Subsequently, the then Energy Secretary Ed Miliband confirmed that the move would mean a 32% boost to the annual pensions of 112,000 former mineworkers – an average increase of £29 per week for each member.

Former mineworkers and their families fought for justice for many years. In a landmark decision, the reserve fund – now worth £1.5bn – has been handed over to the pension scheme, ensuring former pit workers who powered the country for decades finally get the just rewards from their labour.

When British Coal was privatised in 1994, the government also agreed to take half of any profits generated by the pension scheme, in return for a guarantee that pensions would increase in line with inflation.

Strong returns

The scheme has continued to produce strong returns and the government has never paid any funds into it. Therefore, the government is also delivering on its commitment to review this agreement to ensure former miners and their families get a fairer deal in the years ahead.

Mr Miliband said at the time: “We owe the mining communities who powered this country a debt of gratitude. For decades, it has been a scandal that the government has taken money that could have been passed to the miners and their families.

“Today, that scandal ends, and the money is rightfully transferred to the miners. I pay tribute to the campaigners who have fought for justice- today is their victory.”

Mr Benson said: “We are pleased that the mineworkers have achieved justice, but cannot understand why steelworkers should still be expected to lose out. We hope Stephen Kinnock takes our case forward – we have not been at all impressed by the attitude of the Pensions Minister and Swansea West MP Torsten Bell, who has refused for no good reason to grant us parity with the mineworkers.”

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