A senior Scottish Labour MP has blasted a housing association for threatening to ‘fire and rehire’ staff over a pension scheme dispute. Martin McCluskey, who is the Labour Government’s Scottish whip, said it was “jaw dropping” that River Clyde Homes was trying to bully its staff into changing pension scheme.
Workers who are on the Strathclyde Pension Scheme – from before the housing stock was transferred over from the council – received a letter warning them not to stay in the scheme. The housing association says it can’t afford the scheme anymore and wants to move roughly 40 staff to a cheaper one.
The employees and unions have rejected the move. The housing association responded by threatening to force it upon them by firing and rehiring them and including the change in the new contracts. Inverclyde and Renfrewshire West MP McCluskey urged River Clyde Homes to change tact.
He told the Record: “No worker should face the threat of being fired and rehired, and that is why Labour are legislating to end these practices. It’s quite frankly jaw dropping that a housing association would make this threat against its staff – this kind of behaviour is normally the prevail of the worst kind of employers.
“Last year, River Clyde Homes signed up to a fair work statement that promised they would oppose fire and rehire, and now it looks like they are doing just that. I would urge the management at River Clyde Homes to reverse this threat and engage in discussions with their staff and trade unions.”
A spokesperson for River Clyde Homes said: “River Clyde Homes is a registered charity that provides essential services to around 8,000 tenants and residents across Inverclyde. Our responsibility is to ensure value for money for our customers by maintaining affordable rents while safeguarding the long-term sustainability of the organisation.
“Pension arrangements have a significant financial implication and, like many other organisations, we have had to review what is viable going forward. We are involved in an ongoing consultation process about possible alternatives to affected employees being members of the Local Government Pension Scheme and remain committed to open and constructive dialogue throughout this process.”
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