WORKERS from United Utilities are going on strike over a pension dispute.

Around 1,000 workers who repair pipes, treat water waste and resolve public queries will walk out on Friday, March 16 and Monday, March 19 and impose an overtime ban, no call outs and suspending an advice service.

The strike has been called over United Utilities’ plans to impose changes to a staff pension scheme from April 1, which union bosses claim will reduce members’ pensions as much as £10,000 per year of guaranteed income in retirement for younger members of staff.

Bosses at the water giant say the projected cost of pensions is predicted to rise to ‘unsustainable levels’.

Unite regional officer Graham Williams said: “United Utilities is a highly profitable company - all we are asking for our members is a pension arrangement in line with the 21st century.

“If this dispute escalates it will be the domestic and corporate consumer who will be hit as the maintenance of the system slowly erodes and this will hit United Utilities where it hurts - in the wallet as consumer dissatisfaction mounts.”

“We call on the management to sit down and negotiate a modern and progressive pension scheme. We are not prepared to see our members lose thousands of pounds in retirement income.

“What the company is imposing from 1 April is a hybrid scheme where the first £20,000 of salary is subject to the final salary provisions and any sum above that will be a defined contribution element, which is subject to the vagaries of the global stock markets. The final salary scheme was closed to new entrants in 2006.”

A spokesman for United Utilities said: “We are disappointed that Unite, Unison and Prospect have asked their members to walk out for two days.

“Around a third of employees are involved and we have plans to keep our services running as normal.

“Many companies have found that final salary pension schemes have become much more expensive to fund and United Utilities is no exception. The costs of keeping our company scheme open are predicted to keep on rising to unsustainable levels.

“The unions helped to shape the final version of the new scheme. Rather than scrap the defined benefit scheme as planned, we agreed to introduce a hybrid scheme, which will cost us considerably more.”