Bae Systems Staff In Row Over Pensions

Staff at one of Bristol's biggest employers may walk out inprotest over plans to slash retirement benefits.

Union bosses were today meeting to discuss a possible strike atBAE Systems, which employs about 600 people at its Filton plant.

The company, Britain's biggest defence contractor employing 57,000people at 67 sites across the country, has seen its stock marketvalue fall by two-thirds in the past year, and is planning on thecuts to help cover a GBP2.16bn black hole in its pension scheme.

Transport and General Workers' Union spokesman Andrew Dodgesonsaid a strike later in the spring could not be ruled out.

"BAE must face facts - it is not up to the workforce to make goodmistakes made by management.What is being proposed is totallyunacceptable, " he said.

Mr Dodgeson said members were concerned employee contributions tothe pension scheme could rise by up to GBP20 a week under theproposals.

BAE Systems spokesman Richard Coltart said all options were beingconsidered. Doing nothing is not an option. There is a need foraction. We have been consulting in-depth, and taking on board all theviews of some 6,000 people