BTRSS still needs improving

Telecoms & Financial Services, BT May 29 2018

Despite the improvements that have already been made to the BTRSS defined contribution pension scheme under the far reaching pensions settlement that was ratified by members in BT in May (see story at www.cwu.org/news/bt-pension), more needs to be done to ensure decent pensions for a new generation of workers.

That was the unanimous view of CWU Annual Conference, which has now committed the T&FS Executive to work alongside the union’s National Young Workers Committee with a view to  “significantly improving the current BTRSS pension scheme to ensure our younger members receive a reasonable income in retirement.”

Demanding that move in the name of the CWU’s Young Workers Conference, Fiona Curtis of Northern Ireland Telecoms branch pointed out that the BTRSS – which has been the only pension scheme open to new BT joiners since 2001 – already has more members than the BTPS.

“Although the majority of its members are young workers, not all are young,” Fiona stressed. “We do now have a new deal on the table, and appreciate what the union has done for us in this regard, but is this enough?

“I joined BT when I was 18 as a B2 apprentice, and have been with the company for six years, and I’ve now been a C3 for over a year. I’ve been paying 6 per cent into my pension for the last three years, and my estimated pension pot is £216,000.

“This company talks about equality and fairness, but there are managers who are receiving up to 30 per cent of their salaries into their pensions in a single year – so every year they will receive more into their pensions from BT than I will get in my 50 years’ service.

“Is this even remotely fair?”

Seconding the motion, Connor McCann of Meridian branch insisted it was “vitally important that we ensure our young workers and our current workers in the BTRSS are safeguarded in the future.

“We cannot allow ourselves to enter into pension poverty, and that is really what we are looking at.”

Erin Brett of Mersey branch continued on the same theme. “Nobody wants to spend their whole life working for a company as big as BT and then retire in poverty – but unfortunately, at the moment, being a BTRSS member, this is a future that a lot of us are facing.”

Will Murray of Greater London Combined branch added: “When you look at the figures you see the BTRSS isn’t a particularly good pension scheme, but it’s a pretty good life insurance scheme. I’ve got two kids and I often joke that the best thing I can do for my family financially is die, because if I do croak in service my partner could actually afford a house, and we wouldn’t be able to afford that if I live!”

Ryan Rochester of Coventry branch insisted the union couldn’t stand by and see members retire in poverty on account of companies pulling the plug on the more generous pension schemes of yesteryear.

“This is an example of how the greed of corporations has taken away from the wealth of our youth,” he said. “I’d like to remind them that revolutions start with young people. We have to help our young people secure their future.”

Thanking the CWU young workers for bringing the issue to the fore, deputy general secretary Andy Kerr pledged “the wholehearted support of the Executive and myself to work with the Young Members Committee to try to move this forward.”

Conceding the BTRSS “is not perfect and we need to look at it and improve it further,” Andy concluded: “Maybe there is a bit of a mini-revolution out there. Young people are certainly getting politicised and involved in trade unions and I definitely welcome young people being radical and saying what they believe in.”