Catherwood LibraryILR School

The government of British Prime Minister Tony Blair yesterday circulated a discussion paper proposing that local government councils and agencies follow the lead of private employers (see WIT for Aug. 15, 2002), in switching to pension plans in which benefits are lower and/or the risks are shifted to employees. The government is currently considering similar changes for most national government employee groups, and will begin offering civil service employees the option of defined contribution plans as an alternative to traditional defined benefit plans---citing the need to adapt to more flexible employment patterns and a weak stock market. The move is sure to enrage British unions, who have vociferously opposed the erosion of worker pensions in the private sector (see WIT for Sept. 5, 2002), and yesterday passed a resolution at the annual Trades Union Congress conference demanding that the government require all employers to provide pension plans to all employees.