The plight of steelworkers who lost their pensions over 20 years ago has been compared to the Post Office Horizon scandal. The Allied Steel and Wire (ASW) plant in Cardiff went bust in 2002, resulting in hundreds of workers losing their pensions. While campaigners won the right for them to receive up to 90% of their pensions back, inflation has eroded the value of these payments over time.
Former ASW worker John Benson commented: “We played by the rules. We put our trust in politicians in Westminster, and they betrayed that trust.” Baroness Altman, a former pensions minister, conceded that the steelworkers had a “strong moral case” but voiced doubts about how they could receive compensation from the government, saying “It would be difficult”.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) stated that its current scheme aimed to pay 90% of pensions subject to an overall cap, in order to ensure that the protection system remained financially sustainable. Plaid Cymru’s Rhun ap Iorwerth said that the government had to pay up when something was “wrong” and “unjust”.
The ASW scandal mirrors that of the Post Office Horizon scandal, where sub-postmasters were convicted and had their protests ignored by the Post Office. Both cases highlight the difficulties many face in attempting to hold larger organizations accountable- even when there are clear injustices
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