GMB regional officer Maxine Bartholomew told Utility Week the proposed changes would have resulted in “massive changes” that would see employees “getting less out and paying more in” to the pension scheme.
The new proposals for the pension regime from Northumbrian Water are set to put to the GMB’s members in the next month. These will include the start date for the new regime being pushed back from September to October.
Bartholomew added that, as negotiations are set to pick up again, there are currently no plans for industrial action. “For now we are still talking and there will be a new proposal put to our members for them to make a decision on,” she said.
The changes are set to affect 1,700 of the 3,000 staff at Northumbrian Water, and its subsidiary, Essex and Suffolk Water.
In a statement provided to Utility Week, Northumbrian Water said: “Consultations about changes to Northumbrian Water Group’s defined benefit pension scheme continue and a revised proposal will be presented to those affected in April with a view to the changes being implemented in October.”