IPE: Ireland's recovery plan 'seriously jeopardises' pension schemes' future

25 February 2011

Proposals to breach Irish collective bargaining agreements risk jeopardising the future of pension schemes, the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) has argued.

The Brussels-based group warned that undermining the agreements would result in members departing the schemes in large numbers, and said it felt a need to head off possible long-term "pensioner poverty." The organisation was expressing concern with a proposal in the Irish National Recovery Plan, which charts the incumbent governments' budget proposals through 2014 in response to the bailout by the European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The AEIP's concern lies with a sub section covering "Removing Barriers to Employment Creation and Disincentives to Work", which includes a proposal "to assist competitiveness and employment growth in the agricultural, catering, construction and electrical contract sectors". The AEIP warned: "If there is a breach of the collective agreements, the mandatory occupation pension schemes set up by these agreements would be seriously jeopardised."

"More in particular," it continues, "if the obligation to pay contributions into these pension schemes were to be removed, several thousands of employees and workers would quit them".

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