FORMER Garringtons workers and their families and friends are being urged to go to this year’s annual reunion which takes place at Catshill Working Men’s Club on March 25.
The event, at 7.30pm, will give those a chance who used to work at the Bromsgrove forge the chance to catch-up and reminisce and a book of remembrance is being opened for those workers who have passed away.
As well as that, those who go along will also be able to get an update on the pension fight.
It took seven years after the 2002 closure of the factory for workers to win their initial legal battle with the then Government over the money they were owed.
They were supposed to be paid 90 per cent of what they were entitled to as part of an agreement with the FAS (Financial Assistance Service).
But 14 years on they are fighting a further injustice.
It was expected the FAS would match the two per cent annual increase which was part of the terms and conditions of the company pension provider.
But, the workers claim, the FAS is not matching the figure and is ‘actually taking two per cent off’ what it is paying them each year.
They say that takes it under the Government-agreed 90 per cent and means a loss of around £30-per-week for those losing the most.
A spokesperson for the group said: “These are far from miniscule amounts of money.
“Why do our Government and our financial and business institutions treat its people this way?
“Why could they not concede that having thrown us out of work and got what they wanted, the least they could do was pay us a handsome redundancy and make sure our pension would be guaranteed.”
