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Minister to 're-consider' steel pensioners' plight

Bethan James
Westminster reporter, BBC Wales News
BBC The delegation: from left to right - John Benson, Richard Nicoll, Terry Monk, Phil Jones and South Wales Central Senedd member Rhys ab Owen standing outside the Department for Work and Pensions building in central London.BBC
The delegation: from left to right - John Benson , Richard Nicoll, Terry Monk, Phil Jones and South Wales Central Senedd member Rhys ab Owen

A delegation of Welsh ex-steelworkers who lost their pensions more than two decades ago have said the UK pensions minister has agreed to re-consider their plight and see if they can be helped.

Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) plant staff in Cardiff lost their pensions when the firm went bust in 2002 and there were dozens of protests.

Eventually, the UK Labour government of the time set up a scheme by which they would get back up to 90% of their pensions, but their value has fallen because they are not linked to rising prices.

The workers want their pensions topped up for inflation and backdated. They met minister Torsten Bell, who is also Labour MP for Swansea West, on Wednesday.

After the meeting, former steelworker John Benson told BBC Wales: "We told him that we'd been let down and betrayed by successive UK governments.

"This is not our fault – that we're in this terrible situation.

"He agreed with us that it wasn't right but said that his hands are tied until he's looked at all the evidence.

"We got out points over - how it affects our families, our health, the stress of 23 years of fighting this injustice. He's going to look into it."

According to Mr Benson, the minister is "going to look at all the options, all the evidence, at all the reports and he's going to talk to colleagues in the Treasury".

'It has destroyed my life'

"We told him some of the horrific stories of how it has affected our colleagues and their families.

"We've visited them on their deathbeds in hospices and hospitals - their wives worried about how they're going to pay their bills. He did take note of that."

Mr Benson explained that the minister did not provide any timeline for his assessment of their case, but he hoped that it would not take too long.

"23 years I've been fighting this injustice. It has destroyed my life - I've done nothing wrong," he said.

"This injustice was of the government's own making."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: "We are reviewing the recommendations of the Work and Pensions Select Committee report into defined benefit pension schemes and will respond in the coming months."