| "A bold and vital step on the road to justice for former Allied Steel and Wire workers," was how Jennny Willott. Liberal Democrat MP for Cardiff Central, described the start of a legal case today aimed at giving the workers the retirement pensions they lost when the firm went bust.
A delegation of former ASW workers today began their legal case in the European Court of Justice against the UK Government for failing to implement an 1983 European Law that would have protected them from losing much, if not all of their of their pension savings when the company went bust.   Jenny Willott commented : "They have a very strong case. Consecutive Tory and Labour Governments have failed to protect occupational pensions despite being obliged to do so under European law.
" Hopefully the European court will right these wrongs, and establish a pathway to proper compensation for the thousands of workers who have lostàpension money that is rightfully theirs. However, the case may take a long time to go through the EU and national courts. This will leave tens of thousands of workers still suffering with under the unacceptable Financial Assistance Scheme for many more years. The UK Governmentàmustàaccept its full share of the blame in this affair and properly compensate former ASW workers.
"The Public Administration Committee's upcoming inquiry will give me a chance to question the Government over why it rejected the Parliamentary Ombudsmen's scathing report into this affair." |
Ponterwyd