Rabbitte's failure to tackle Labour’s Pension Problems

national | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis Thursday March 30, 2006 19:04 by Big Jim

The Labour Party like other organisations operates a pension scheme for its employees, in Labour’s case it’s a defined benefit scheme which offers employees a pension based on a fixed percentage of their salary upon retirement. The staff pay in 5% of their salary each year and in return the party is supposed to cover the balance.

Excellent program you might say, that is until you learn since 2004 the scheme has been running a massive deficit of €432,000 which represents almost 50% of the Party’s entire net book value*.

The scheme is in real trouble and the leadership know it, that’s why they set up a working group to address the issue, however in the past 2 years nothing has happened.

Rabbitte has abysmally failed to make any progress, leaving the long serving staff in Ely Place with the prospect of having little or no pension when they retire.

It’s time Rabbitte & his spin doctors shuffled off the stage and allowed others to sort out the party.

* Labour Party Report 03-05