Labour Court recommends Musgrave pension scheme closure and six weeks of talks

The Labour Court recommended that the Services Industrial Professional Technical Union accept Musgrave Ltd’s closure of its defined-benefit pension scheme to future accrual after 31 December 2016, on the terms put to the Court. The recommendation was signed on 27 March 2017. The union argued the closure was a unilateral change and said the company had refused genuine negotiations. Musgrave said growing scheme liabilities could threaten its business and members’ accrued entitlements, and said it had engaged with stakeholders. The Court also recommended six weeks of intensive discussions to agree a replacement scheme offering affected staff comparable pension cover. If the parties did not agree by 28 April 2017, the Court said it would issue a definitive recommendation on the dispute.