Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) chief, Kevin Toland, warned trade unionists yesterday that workers at the State company could lose close to €200 million in pension benefits if they do not agree to proposals designed to wind up the insolvent aviation staff retirement scheme.
DAA is planning to put a total of €120 million into new staff pensions to replace the Irish Aviation Staff Superannuation (IASS) scheme, which has a €780 million deficit and will be closed at the end of the year as part of an overall resolution to a dispute over the insolvent fund's problems.
In a letter to Siptu representatives, Greg Ennis and Dermot O'Loughlin, Mr Toland states that, under proposals put forward by the IASS trustees, no contributions can be made to the fund after December 31st and no benefits will accrue to that scheme in future.
He warns that individual staff, who are members of the IASS, will lose the €120 million that the DAA will invest and a further €70 million in contributions for future service, if they do not agree to the proposals and do not transfer to the new scheme that the company is funding.
