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Adjournment debate on Wednesday, 13 January 2010, in the House of Commons, led by Sandra Gidley. The answering member was Angela Eagle.

IBM Pension Scheme

Westminster Hall adjournment debate on the supervision and regulation of the IBM pension scheme.

Secondary information

Type
Parliamentary proceeding
Reference
503 c300-10WH 
Session
2009-10
Department
Department for Work and Pensions
Chamber / Committee
Westminster Hall
Proceeding contributions
David Cairns | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) Is the hon. Lady aware that more than 70 people in IBM Greenock have been forced out the door by thi...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has saved me from having to read out part of my speech later. Certainly, we were all ...
Show all contributions (41)
Lindsay Hoyle | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) Obviously the matter is important; a lot of constituents have been affected by the closure of this p...
Chris Huhne | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) I would like to reinforce the point for the Minister. When my hon. Friend, other hon. Members and I ...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) People very much feel forced out and what is happening has been described as redundancy by stealth.
Baroness Clark of Kilwinning | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) I hope that the hon. Lady understands that the number of interventions shows the anger in the countr...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) Yes, of course. Brendan Riley is part of a different pension scheme, and his pension will be intact ...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) I very much agree. People will think twice about whether they want to work for a company that treats...
Stephen Pound | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) On the subject of chief executives, Sam Palmisano, the chief executive of IBM in America has just se...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) I think that the chief executive has been promoted, but more than 800 people nationwide are affected...
Jim Cunningham | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) There is something more fundamental to the matter—I declare an interest, as I know someone who works...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) Yes, I do. In some respects, the fact that IBM has so many employees who have stayed with it loyally...
Mark Hunter | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) On that point, it is not just the over-50s who are affected. Several people in my constituency are a...
Maria Miller | 503 c303WH (Link to this contribution) I reiterate my support for the hon. Lady's comments, particularly on behalf of my constituents who a...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c303WH (Link to this contribution) I had planned to make that point later. The company is really riding roughshod through the matter.
Jeremy Wright | 503 c302WH (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Lady for her generosity in giving way so often. She will know that the pen...
Angela Eagle | 503 c305-6WH (Link to this contribution) I congratulate the hon. Member for Romsey (Sandra Gidley) on securing this debate. It is clear from ...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c304-5WH (Link to this contribution) As far as I am aware, it has not given any good reasons, but cited the long-term prosperity of the c...
Lord Redwood | 503 c304WH (Link to this contribution) In the hon. Lady's conversations with IBM, has it produced any reason why it needs to do that, other...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c303WH (Link to this contribution) Indeed. I must now try to make some progress. I was referring to the emotive comments that have bee...
Robert Key | 503 c303WH (Link to this contribution) I am grateful to the hon. Lady, whose constituency neighbours my own—like her, I have many constitue...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c303WH (Link to this contribution) It is very difficult. Some of us had a meeting with IBM, but it was not an easy meeting to obtain an...
Jim Cunningham | 503 c307WH (Link to this contribution) Coming back to a point that was made earlier, I would have thought that the Minister could look at t...
Angela Eagle | 503 c306WH (Link to this contribution) In a minute, when I have finished this observation. I do not believe that there is a magic bullet or...
Angela Eagle | 503 c306-7WH (Link to this contribution) It is not unusual for companies to retain significant discretion over early retirement, both for cos...
Chris Huhne | 503 c306WH (Link to this contribution) What is clear from what is happening is how the company is using the pension scheme to encourage peo...
Angela Eagle | 503 c307WH (Link to this contribution) Only IBM can comment on its motivation for making the changes. I sympathise with IBM employees who f...
Mark Hunter | 503 c307WH (Link to this contribution) The Minister is being generous with her time. Further to the point that was just made, would she agr...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) Very much so. They will lose out, as I will go on to explain.
Brian H Donohoe | 503 c301WH (Link to this contribution) Does the hon. Lady agree that constituents such as mine, who are now having to retire as a consequen...
Sandra Gidley | 503 c300-1WH (Link to this contribution) I am delighted to have the opportunity to raise this matter today. Given the number of hon. Members ...
Angela Eagle | 503 c307WH (Link to this contribution) One of the jobs of a Pensions Minister is to look and see how things are developing out there and al...
David Cairns | 503 c307WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend says that she is not in a position to speculate on IBM's reasons and she is right abo...
Angela Eagle | 503 c309-10WH (Link to this contribution) If my hon. Friend has any information of that kind he should certainly put it before the regulator. ...
Angela Eagle | 503 c308-9WH (Link to this contribution) Again, I am more than happy to endorse the observations that the hon. Gentleman has made about the d...
Stephen Pound | 503 c309WH (Link to this contribution) Further to the point raised by the hon. Member for Gosport (Sir Peter Viggers) about the trustees, m...
Angela Eagle | 503 c308WH (Link to this contribution) It is difficult. I am always willing to try to learn from the systems and approaches to industrial r...
Peter Viggers | 503 c308WH (Link to this contribution) One thing this Government have done is greatly to increase the responsibilities of trustees, one of ...
Angela Eagle | 503 c308WH (Link to this contribution) My hon. Friend has made his point in his characteristically laser-like manner. I am sure that IBM wi...
Baroness Clark of Kilwinning | 503 c308WH (Link to this contribution) My constituents do not believe that it would be possible to make changes of this nature in other par...
Subjects
Workplace pensions Monitoring Regulation IBM
Link
View this Parliamentary proceeding on www.publications.parliament.uk