Labour Court recommends unions accept Schering Plough pension changes

In 2009, the Labour Court recommended that the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union (SIPTU) and the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union accept Schering Plough’s proposed pension scheme changes, with a five-year review. The recommendation was dated 17 November 2009. The dispute concerned the company’s plan to replace the defined benefit scheme at its Brinny site with a career-average pension scheme. The unions said the change would reduce workers’ benefits and that workers had not been sufficiently involved in discussions. Schering Plough said the new scheme was cost-effective and more predictable, and that related arrangements had been accepted at its Bray and Swords sites. The Court said that, if the scheme’s assumptions were correct, there would be no material worsening in benefits for the average member. It recommended that the unions accept the changes and that the company review the scheme every five years.