Friends Provident submitted a proposal to the union on Friday 3rd September in respect of pension provision for the 2,000 plus staff transferring to Friends Life on 15th September.

Unite are now considering the proposal and will continue to endeavour to find an acceptable outcome for its members.

Yesterday a meeting was held between Unite, SIPTU and AXA management in relation to the health of the AXA Ireland Defined Benefit Pension Scheme. As most members are no doubt aware, the scheme is in serious deficit as a result of the collapse on the financial markets and the slow return to growth.

The company have agreed to increase their contributions to the scheme as part of a recovery plan and have outlined a plan to return the scheme to full funding by March 2016. This plan was outlined to the unions, just over a week ago and the meeting yesterday was held to answer the questions the unions had about how the scheme would work and the implications for staff.

All of our questions were answered by the management to our satisfaction. The increased funding of the scheme is being undertaken by the company using a release from their investment portfolio. This plan has been approved by the Board of trustees, the shareholders and the Pensions Board.

Unite members have asked for details as to the state of negotiations in respect of pension scheme arrangements for AXA employees that are transferring to Friends Life. Unite can confirm that as yet no actual pension offer has been put to the union for consideration.

When formal proposals are received, Unite will then seek to analyse them (and the supporting data) with a view to consulting with Unite members, possibly including a ballot.

One of the requests that Unite have put to Friends and AXA is that transitional pension arrangements are agreed to be put in place for a suitable period following the sale (date now estimated as 7th September).

Even at this late stage it is most important to get issues such as pension provision right, so Unite are not intending to rush into agreeing any proposal received as a “done deal” by the transaction completion date.