Ireland -Teachers’ unions object new pension scheme -October 1, 2011

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) says a new pension scheme for future public servants is unjust and potentially unlawful. The INTO said it is considering a legal challenge to the scheme which is designed to save the state pension bill €1.8 billion per year (in 2050). Under the new scheme, future new entrants will have their pension calculated on a career-average basis, rather than on the basis of the final salary at the time of retirement. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin, insisted the new scheme would be fairer and more balanced than the current system. However, INTO General Secretary Sheila Nunan described the proposed scheme as unfair, unnecessary and “probably unlawful.” The secondary school teachers' union, ASTI, has also said considering to challenge the measures in the courts.

English: http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2011/0930/breaking7.html
http://www.rte.ie/news/2011/0930/into_pensions.html

via http://www.labourstart.org/cgi-bin/show_news.pl?country=Ireland

This article was published in the Collective Bargaining Newsletter. It aims to facilitate information exchange between trade unions and to support the work of ETUC's collective bargaining committee. For more information, please contact the editor Maarten van Klaveren, Amsterdam Institute for Advanced Labour Studies (AIAS) M.vanKlaveren@uva.nl. You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org, and on the AIAS at www.uva-aias.net. © ETUI aisbl, Brussels 2011.