Midland workers who lost all or most of their pensions joined hundreds of protesters at Westminster yesterday to lobby for compensation. The demonstration came as MPs debated the Pensions Bill, which will create a new fund to safeguard the pensions rights of workers from 2005. However it will not offer any help to people who have already lost their pensions under current rules, including former staff of UEF in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, and Kalamazoo in Birmingham. Mike Harrison, a former UEF worker aged 64, said: I planned to retire next year, but now Ive got no choice but to work until Im 70. He expected a pension of £10,000 a year, but was now set to receive just £1,500 a year. Union Amicus has accused UEF of raiding the company pension fund to pay for redundancies when it went insolvent. It is taking a case to the European Court of Justice and says the Government should have done more. A total of 1,210 deferred Kalamazoo pensioners are also facing impoverished retirements due to falling pension funds. The shortfall follows the decision of the Kalamazoo Computer Group to go into voluntary liquidation two years ago and the subsequent disposal of its assets. Yesterdays demonstration was organised by the ISTC and Amicus unions. ISTC general secretary Michael Leahy said: The ISTC and Amicus are committed to getting pensions justice for our members. The lobby will raise attention to the plight of people who have been failed by successive UK Governments who have not lived up to their responsibility to protect people who have saved for their retirement as they were urged to do. Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus, said: Some of these people have made 30 years of compulsory pension contributions but now face destitution instead of the safe and comfortable retirement they had saved for. The Government say they want to encourage people to save responsibly for their retirement but they are only likely to do that if they believe their contributions are safe. Northfield MP Richard Burden (Lab) said he welcomed the Pensions Bill but also wanted the Government to compensate those who have already lost out. He said: The changes to the law that the Government are currently making will protect people in the future from this type of loss but the people who have brought the issue to light, like the workers at Kalamazoo, will still have lost half of their savings. The union campaign was also supported by Mid Worcestershire MP Peter Luff (Con). He urged Ministers to consider proposals drawn up by Frank Field, a Labour MP and former Minister, to use unclaimed assets to help workers whose pensions have collapsed. | 
