About 1,500 United Utilities employees are expected to walk out on Friday and Monday because of the company's plans to change the final salary scheme to a hybrid arrangement.
The United Utilities workers, including members of Unite, Unison and Prospect, will go on strike for two days on March 16 and 19, while action short of a strike will be carried out until March 15.
The company’s proposed closure of the scheme was set for April 1 this year. Employees had been offered a hybrid arrangement as a replacement for final salary, after negotiations between the employer and unions. United Utilities had originally planned to scrap the defined benefit scheme entirely.
Prospect negotiations officer Andrew Jennings accused United Utilities of having failed to invest profits back in the company, and said: “United Utilities has no reason to close this scheme, which costs £12m a year, a relatively small amount compared to the £1.2bn paid out in dividends to shareholders in the last five years."
Employer United Utilities said it was "disappointed" the three unions have asked their members to walk out for two days. "Around a third of employees are involved, and we have plans to keep our services running as normal," it added.
The company said final salary schemes have become more expensive to fund. "The costs of keeping our company scheme open are predicted to keep on rising to unsustainable levels," it said.
