More than 200 ex-Visteon workers have descended on Parliament to demand the restoration of their pension rights on the third anniversary of the collapse of their former employer.
The protesters delivered a letter to the Prime Minister calling for Visteon's former parent company Ford to honour promises they say were given when the car parts manufacturer was spun off in 2000.
They will join members of Unite and the National Union of Teachers in a day of action to highlight concerns over worsening pension provision (PP Online, 28 March).
The protesters claim the spin-off was a contrivance by Ford to dump a loss-making division, which made no profit in nine years, and that the pension fund into which they transferred accrued rights was underfunded from the start.
Since the closure of Visteon's plants in 2009, which tipped its pension scheme into the Pension Protection Fund with a £350m shortfall, former workers have gained support from several MPs and MEPs (PP Online 11 November 2011).
With the backing of Unite, scheme members have also launched a legal challenge, alleging Ford provided misleading information to its employees when they transferred (PP Online, 21 July 2011). The case is now due to be heard early next year.
