A woman waging a campaign against tech giants Hewlett Packard over what she claims is a pensions ‘scandal, said she was delighted by the turnout of those who may also be affected.
Patricia Kennedy, from Coylton, has fought a long-standing battle against former employer Hewlett Packard Enterprise in bid to force the company to bump up discretionary pension contributions.
Pat called a meeting, held at Prestwick Community Centre, and almost 100 people attended.
Patricia is a member of the HPPA (Hewlett Packard Pension Association (UK) who say they have faced ‘significant hardship’ over the last two decades due to changes in their pension plans.
The group claim they possess massively-reduced pensions from their pre-1997 contributions, because current legislation only index-links contributions from 1997.
And they want the tech giants to ‘make good’ on their contributions to the scheme.
In Ayrshire, the issue has a direct bearing on the former employees of UK Digital Equipment Corporation.
The firm employed people at their plant at Mosshill Industrial Estate, Ayr, between 1977 and 2002 – until it was wound down by new owners Hewlett Packard.
In 1998, Digital Equipment merged with Compaq, and in 2001 that organisation, in turn, merged with Hewlett Packard.
In 2017 Hewlett Packard split, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise took over responsibility for the Digital pension scheme.
And it is estimated that around 1500 people across the region could be affected by what campaigners claim are ‘massively reduced’ pensions.
As a result they met at Prestwick Community Centre to hear the latest news from the campaign organisers Pat Kennedy and David Carson.
Pat said: “The meeting really was excellent. I’m a New Yorker and we usually say ‘it was okay,’ but this exceeded my expectations and I don’t say that lightly.
“We had 58 confirmations, but I had 72 sign-ins. However, the latest figure of attendees for the meeting that I’m getting was almost 100.
“The buzz in the room was phenomenal. I knew it would be good because when former Digital employees get together there’s a wonderful community spirit. The atmosphere was electric.”
Pat is convinced that those who were previously unaware of the problem surrounding their Digital pension, now have a greater insight into the issue.
She said: “I think that applied to the majority of those who attended. Even though the issue has been around a long time it’s not ‘pinched’ that much.
“But one of the things we presented on the day was the potential future for people affected.
“Put it this way, if things continue for the next 10 years- the same way they have done for the last 20 years- then we could be missing out on a considerable sum of money to our pension pots.
“During one example we calculated that one particular pensioner would have an accumulative loss of £75,000 by the time they retire. When that slide came up and David spoke about it, you could literally see the jaws drop!”
Pat and David will continue to campaign for pension justice and are determined to keep the pressure on the powers at be in Westminster to make changes.
She said: “There was a report into the issue due to be published but then the UK General Election came along. So the report by the Pensions Select Committee, led by Sir Stephen Timms, got left on the table because there is no requirement for the new government to pick up the work of the old government.
“However, we got on that straight away and we asked our four new MPs in Ayrshire for support (Alan Gemmell, Elaine Stewart, Irene Campbell and Lilian Jones) who have been fantastic.
“Elaine Stewart attended the meeting but we have met with all of the Ayrshire MPs and they are 100 per cent supportive.
“Alan Gemmell asked a question on this last month in Parliament. All of their support has helped. We now understand that the new government will respond to the report from the previous pensions select committee, so that is great!
“It means the issue has not died. What does that really mean? It means we are continuing to campaign and just like the awareness in Ayrshire is growing, it’s growing across the UK.”
Pat is hopeful that the issue can take a step forward in December when the issue will be raised again with the new Pensions Minister Emma Reynolds.
She added: “In December, because of Alan Gemmell’s question, there will now be a meeting with the Ayrshire MPs, the Pensions Minister and possibly others. I think we will know something more then.”
HPE previously stated they were “committed” to satisfying all of its responsibilities to both current and former team members.
A spokesperson added: “Each year we carefully consider whether to grant discretionary increases to relevant pensioners, based on a number of factors. HPE UK is keenly aware that our decisions impact our pensioners, as well as current team members. HPE UK will continue to act in good faith and to give this matter due and appropriate consideration.”
If you were unable to attend the meeting in Prestwick but think you could be affected by the issue e-mail Pat on [email protected]
Alternatively go to https://www.facebook.com/groups/pre97hppapensionjustice/ or https://hppa.org.uk/ to find out more.