BURT CALLS FOR FAIR TREATMENT FOR NEWSQUEST EMPLOYEES' PENSIONS

11.11.54am GMT Tue 30th Oct 2007

West Worcestershire's Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate, Richard Burt today backed moves in Parliament calling for the protection of final salary pensions for Newsquest employees.

Many of the scheme's 9000 members in the UK work for newspaper titles in Worcestershire, including the Worcester News, Evesham Journal, Malvern Gazette and Tenbury Advertiser.

Mr Burt is backing an all party motion in the House of Commons raising concern over plans by US newspaper publishers and Newsquest owners, Gannet, to shift the burden of its final salary scheme on to staff, thereby threatening to undermine support for the scheme.

Richard Burt said:

"Local journalists are not paid a King's ransom and work very hard for their money. It seems grossly unfair that a company making £120 million from its UK operations in 2006/7 should try offload its responsibilities for maintaining the final salary pension scheme on to staff.

"Gannet should use a proportion of those profits to protect the pension provision for its UK employees currently in the scheme."