A LEGAL battle is under way between former Visteon workers and Ford over their pension rights.

Trade union Unite, has lodged a claim in the High Court against Ford Motor Company for "misleading" workers over the pension rights of staff who transferred to Visteon UK.

The former workers, that include 700 living in and around Swansea, believed their pension terms would be protected when Ford turned the Fabian Way plant into Visteon UK — a company which went into administration last year.

Unite's national officer, Roger Maddison said: "Unite believes Ford has a legal and a moral obligation to the thousands of ex employees who paid into its pension scheme all their working lives.

"Ford failed to clearly set out the risks associated with transferring the assets staff had built up with Ford — now many of these workers face vastly reduced pensions.

"Ford has announced $8 billion in profits, it will take a fraction of this to give the men and women who lost their pensions justice."

Swansea-based Mike Gard, of the Visteon Pension Action Group, who worked for Ford for 33 years, said: "Without the help of Unite we would not have been able to get this far. At the end of it we hope to get the money we are entitled to."

AM for South Wales West, Bethan Jenkins, said: "Some of those workers had been with Ford for 30 years and with Visteon for as little as six months, and ended up losing their entire pension.

"This is a crucial moment in British corporate history, because it could well lay down a marker that large multi-nationals cannot dump their pension funds here and expect the taxpayer to foot the bill."

A Ford spokesman said: "The situation for former Visteon UK employees is very regrettable but Visteon was fully responsible for administering and funding their terms and conditions and for managing its own pension fund.

"Ford's obligations to its former employees were fully discharged, and Ford maintains that there is no liability for benefits which were transferred to Visteon ten years ago."

Swansea Visteon Pension Action Group (VPAG) will meet on Thursday, February 3, at the Railwaymen's Club on Wind Street, from 7.30pm.

gill.roberts@swwmedia.co.uk