"One minute's bank profit would do for each worker. A few weeks' profit and the problem would be nearly cracked," he says
A union leader in the United Kingdom is looking at the huge profits banks are generating as a potential fix to pension problems for workers at companies who go under.
Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, said banks should pay a windfall tax to help compensate workers who lose pensions when their company goes belly up, according to a report on Scotsman.com.
Woodley said thousands of workers are losing out because their pensions were being cut or lost altogether when companies went out of a business, he said at a meeting in Manchester.
He said new laws to protect pensions would do nothing for tens of thousands of workers who had already been “robbed” of their pension funds.
“Where will the money come from, some say,” he said. “I can’t help noticing that the banks are doing very nicely at the moment, making £50,000 ($120,000 Cdn) a minute.”
Woodley said banks often push companies into bankruptcy and then are at the front of the line to get their money back, leaving workers with nothing for their pensions.
“Why not a one-off windfall tax on those enormous bank profits to securing funding for pensions justice?” he said. “One minute’s bank profit would do for each worker. A few weeks’ profit and the problem would be nearly cracked.”
According to Scotsman.com, about 60,000 workers have lost all or part of their pensions because of company closures and cutbacks.
Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, said banks should pay a windfall tax to help compensate workers who lose pensions when their company goes belly up, according to a report on Scotsman.com.
Woodley said thousands of workers are losing out because their pensions were being cut or lost altogether when companies went out of a business, he said at a meeting in Manchester.
He said new laws to protect pensions would do nothing for tens of thousands of workers who had already been “robbed” of their pension funds.
“Where will the money come from, some say,” he said. “I can’t help noticing that the banks are doing very nicely at the moment, making £50,000 ($120,000 Cdn) a minute.”
Woodley said banks often push companies into bankruptcy and then are at the front of the line to get their money back, leaving workers with nothing for their pensions.
“Why not a one-off windfall tax on those enormous bank profits to securing funding for pensions justice?” he said. “One minute’s bank profit would do for each worker. A few weeks’ profit and the problem would be nearly cracked.”
According to Scotsman.com, about 60,000 workers have lost all or part of their pensions because of company closures and cutbacks.
