Beefing at the Tower

  By New Worker correspondent

The famed Beefeaters, who perform the valuable ceremonial duties of looking after Her Majesty’s crown jewels at the Tower of London, are among those working for Historic Royal Palaces who are being balloted over possible action to defend their pensions against massive proposed cuts.

            HRP, the independent charity that manages the six of Britain’s unoccupied royal palaces which allow in plebs as tourists, is planning to close its defined benefits pension scheme to future accruals and move the 120 staff who are members of the scheme into a defined contribution scheme. This will result in staff receiving greatly reduced pensions.

 Apart from the Yeoman Warders the workers affected are those who work in IT, extract money from gullible tourists at the properties, and conservation at the Tower, Kensington Palace and Hampton Court Palace.

 The union has succeeded in forcing HRP to make a slightly better offer to transition over to a defined contribution pension scheme, but the improvements insufficient.

 Members have overwhelmingly rejected the changes put forward by HRP to the defined benefits pension scheme in two consultative ballots.

 In late October, PCS, the civil service union that represents most of the affected staff, wrote to the CEO but management turned down invitation to further negotiations resulting in a ballot which closes today.