AA patrol staff vote for strike in row on pensions

The Independent Democratic Union said its members had backed strikes by 57 per cent in a high turnout of 87 per cent of its 2,400 members.

National secretary Alistair Maclean said it was clear there was "widespread anger" over plans to cap employee pensions.

The union urged the AA to hold fresh talks, otherwise strike dates will be set.

Mr Maclean said AA staff were set to lose thousands of pounds under changes to pension pay-outs, which they found "completely unacceptable".

He said the private equity groups which own the AA, CVC and Permira, were "highly profitable", adding: "Staff have gone through a major reorganisation. They have taken all the pain and don't accept that private equity can come in and buy and sell them like a tin of beans.

"They have created a lot of wealth for themselves at the expense of ordinary workers. We need to get back into negotiations to see if we can resolve this. If not, we will set dates for action."

The president of the AA, Edmund King, said talk of industrial action was "premature" as consultations on the changes did not finish until April 23.

Mr King said: "Most companies have closed defined benefit pension schemes but the AA is endeavouring to keep its scheme open but put a cap on pensionable earnings.

"It would be easier and cheaper to close it down, so we think we are offering a good deal. We hope there will not be industrial action."

The GMB union is also planning to ballot its members at the AA, including staff at call centres, for action in the same dispute. National officer Paul Maloney said: "Our members have voted in an indicative ballot to reject the pension changes. We are currently working with our lawyers before holding a ballot for action."

The AA expressed disappointment with the ballot result and pointed out a majority of patrols did not vote in favour of strike action as more than 400 were not in the union.

AA Services chief executive Andrew Strong said the company had committed to increase its pension contributions by 40 per cent, and had improved its offer, accusing the union of being "out of touch".

Mr Strong said: "This is not a strong mandate to strike and we would urge the union to think again. In consultations most staff seem to accept the need for the company to make changes to the scheme and we think the majority of staff will support our proposals.

"We want to offer all our staff a good deal on pensions - our staff are our greatest asset and pensions are an important part of their remuneration package. The AA is bucking the trend by proposing to keep our final salary section and career average sections open when most companies are closing theirs. We are proposing reasonable changes to safeguard the future of the pension scheme.

"Ballots calling for industrial action are premature as we believe that most staff accept the need for change."

The organisation, which was founded in 1905 to offer advice to motorists and now boasts more than 15 million members, said its pension scheme consists of two sections – a final salary section which closed to new members in 2005 and a Career Average section which remains open to new members.

Mr Strong added: "The AA would like to reassure members that in the event of any strike action, contingency plans would be enacted to ensure that members receive a good service."