“Ex Ford employees are fighting for their pensions promised by Ford – we say to them stand by and meet the promises made and we can stand down, listen to your ex-employees and the public”
Why we are demonstrating? Ford Motor Company created a new company in 2000 – Visteon UK, and transferred employees and their pensions to this new company. It was a flawed business structure, with Ford immediately reducing the price of parts purchased from Visteon after huge losses totaling £300 million Visteon UK suddenly closed in March 2009. Factory sit-ins secured a redundancy package as Ford production faced closedown but leaving the pension scheme in collapse. The Visteon pension scheme was transferred to the Pension Protection Fund with immediate large pension reductions and the promise of further losses in the future.
Our actions to restore pension have brought Ford within the sights of Westminster MPs, the Welsh Assembly and Unite the Union, and on the 12th October we bring together four locations in our campaign to maintain awareness of our fight for justice in Enfield, Swansea Rayleigh and Belfast. Unite the Union is presently pursuing a legal claim against Ford for these broken promises with a court date set in 2014.
In the past Visteon Pensioner protest demonstrations and meetings to date number over 300 taking place at Unite the Union HQ, Westminster Parliament, The Welsh Assembly, Party conferences and the European Parliament.
The invitation is for the press and Visteon Pensioners to meet from 10am on the 12th October and make some noise! Tell Ford ‘WE ARE NOT GOING AWAY’ until we get pension justice.
Paul Bailey, ([email protected])
Phone 07866 636984
www.visteonpensionactiongroup.co.uk
Visteon Pension Action Group (VPAG) VPAG
Local demonstration details:
In Rayleigh, Essex – Location: Ford dealership – Essex Ford (opposite Sainsbury’s), this has always attracting strong public support. We have been there longer than some of the Essex Ford employees! We have been demonstrating every Saturday for the last 4 years – come rain, snow and flood!
Contact: Paul Bailey 07866 636984
Enfield, Essex – Regular demonstrations on the A10 outside the Ford dealership – Dagenham Motors, this has received energetic and noisy public support all to the dismay of the Ford dealer!
Contact: Kevin Owen 07531 141531
Swansea, South Wales – regular demonstrations at Days Ford dealer, meetings in Swansea and at the Welsh Assembly, strong political support and determination to win this fight. Location: Ford dealership – Days at Neath Abbey.
Contact: John Elvins 07840 417873
Belfast, Northern Ireland – Location: Ex Ford / Visteon factory, Blacks Road, Belfast.
Contact: John Maguire 07816 590380
BACKGROUND
Visteon is a US based company with some 30,000 employees in 26 countries around the world, which Ford spun off in 2000 retaining a majority holding. On March 31, 2009 Visteon placed its UK arm into administration, having spent many months secretly transferring products to other Visteon European factories and other suppliers to Ford, and with Ford’s covert support. However, despite the collapse of Visteon UK, Visteon Corporation continues to operate in the UK, and prior to the collapse Visteon Engineering Systems had been created, with key management and staff moved into the new company — all with the knowledge and support of Ford. Ford has declared strongly improved profits boosted by strong UK sales success and even Visteon Corp declares a profit for Q4 2009 and is now supporting its US Pensioners
