“AEGON’s reports of strong quarterly results have only added to the growing unrest amongst its employees who found out on Tuesday that the company plans to cut their pension provisions.

Our members have made it clear that they will resist these changes by all means available to them.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

Aegis the Union looks after the interests of people who work for the AEGON UK group of companies, except staff at Lytham who are represented by Unite.

Aegis are an independent trade union affiliated to the TUC.

For more information please contact:

Brian Linn
General Secretary
brian.linn@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5767

Fiona Steele
Deputy General Secretary
fiona.steele@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5665

Neil Crew
Assistant General Secretary
neil.crew@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 4849

Donna Morris
Communications Officer
donna.morris@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5474

In response to AEGON UK’s announcement today about their proposals to reduce staff pension schemes, Brian Linn, General Secretary of Aegis the Union, states:

“This is a devastating attack on the people who have loyally supported AEGON UK through a turbulent year as the company restructures to meet the demands of its Dutch shareholder. For a pension provider to inflict a blow like this on its own people has shocked everyone to the core.

We do not accept that these proposals will “reward all employees on an equitable basis”, as the company claim. The reality is they will dramatically reduce the pension provision for every single member of staff.

We are utterly opposed to these proposals and will consider all options available to us in the fight to save our members’ pensions.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:

Aegis the Union looks after the interests of people who work for the AEGON UK group of companies, except staff at Lytham who are represented by Unite.

Aegis are an independent trade union affiliated to the TUC.

For more information please contact:

Brian Linn
General Secretary
brian.linn@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5767

Fiona Steele
Deputy General Secretary
fiona.steele@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5665

Neil Crew
Assistant General Secretary
neil.crew@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 4849

Donna Morris
Communications Officer
donna.morris@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5474

Free training in Excel for our members
We’ve talked about our new Union Learn initiative quite a bit recently, and are delighted to let you know all the work we’ve been doing on this recently now lets us offer you a free two day course in Microsoft Excel at Stevenson College here in Edinburgh.

A reminder: what is Union Learn?
Just to remind you, the Union Learn programme helps unions broker learning opportunities for their members, running phone and online advice services, securing the best courses to meet learners’ needs and kitemarking union academy provision to a quality standard. Union Learn will research union priorities on learning and skills, identify and share good practice, promote learning agreements, support union members on learning and skills bodies, and help shape sector skills agreements.

What does this mean for me?
Through Aegis, you will be able find out about all sorts training opportunities both online and in your local area. Some of this training will be provided to you free through Union Learn; other training will be available to you as an Aegis member at a reduced cost. We can help you find learning opportunities, and also help you access funding if necessary.

What stage are we at now?

• We put in our bid for funds for this project and were successful.
• Our Assistant General Secretary Neil Crew has had ten days training at the TUC on how to set up and manage the Union Learn project for Aegis
• Our four Union Learn Reps (Sandra Easson, Wendy Ruddoch, Duncan Hay and Matt Armes) have now been trained in their new roles
• Two new Union Learn Reps (Duncan McLaren and Mary O’Brien) are now awaiting training
• We can now offer our first free course to members!

Our members asked us for Excel training
Recently we have heard from quite a few members saying they would like a course on Excel, as they feel this will help them carry out their roles more efficiently.

Course details
The date is still to be confirmed, but we’ve arranged for a training course in Excel to be held at Stevenson College in Edinburgh, to be run on two consecutive full days on Wednesdays. It can cover basic to advanced use of excel.

If you’re interested …
Please email our mailbox at aegismb@aegon.co.uk, stating the level of training you would like: basic, intermediate or advanced. Please make sure your manager is happy to let you attend! If we have enough members coming forward, we hope to start the first course fairly soon.

More information
If you’d like to know more about Union Learn, please contact any of our Union Learn Reps: Neil Crew, Sandra Easson, Wendy Ruddoch, Duncan Hay or Matt Armes. You can also click here to have a look at the TUC’s Union Learn website.

In response to AEGON UK’s announcement today about restructuring several parts of the business to reduce operating costs, Brian Linn, General Secretary of Aegis the Union, states:

“For many of our members, today’s announcement brings months of uncertainty to an end. However, we appreciate that a considerable number of people are in areas impacted by redundancy and have some difficult choices to make.

We are confident the majority of job losses will be achieved voluntarily and we will resist any attempts to make our members compulsorily redundant.

Our input has significantly reduced the number of people at risk today. It has also increased the number of opportunities for those who want to stay with AEGON but find that their roles are redundant. We have insisted voluntary redundancy registers are opened and redeployment opportunities are offered to help mitigate compulsory redundancies.

We are dedicated to providing support for our members throughout these consultation periods and beyond.“

ENDS

Note to Editors:
Aegis the Union looks after the interests of people who work for the AEGON UK group of companies, except staff at Lytham who are represented by Unite.

Aegis are an independent trade union affiliated to the TUC.

Contacts:

Brian Linn
General Secretary
brian.linn@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5767

Fiona Steele
Deputy General Secretary
fiona.steele@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5665

Neil Crew
Assistant General Secretary
neil.crew@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 4849

Donna Morris
Communications Officer
donna.morris@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5474

In response to AEGON UK’s announcement today about the sale of Guardian Financial Services, Brian Linn, General Secretary of Aegis the Union, states:

“Our understanding is that there is no adverse impact on our Edinburgh based members who support Guardian.

Should this change, we expect to be fully consulted.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:
Aegis the Union looks after the interests of people who work for the AEGON UK group of companies, except staff at Lytham who are represented by Unite.

Aegis are an independent trade union affiliated to the TUC.

Contacts:

Brian Linn
General Secretary
brian.linn@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5767

Fiona Steele
Deputy General Secretary
fiona.steele@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5665

Neil Crew
Assistant General Secretary
neil.crew@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 4849

Donna Morris
Communications Officer
donna.morris@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5474

In response to AEGON UK’s announcement today about restructuring several parts of the business, Brian Linn, General Secretary of Aegis the Union, states:

“This is a sad and difficult time for our members, with many of them facing an uncertain future. Although we’ve all been expecting the announcements, we appreciate the huge impact they have on us all.

To be clear, Aegis will resist any attempt to impose compulsory redundancies. We recognise the current challenging business environment but are hopeful that job losses will come through volunteers.

We have insisted voluntary redundancy registers are opened and redeployment opportunities are offered to help mitigate compulsory redundancies.

The company have also informed us of their intention to transfer 106 Document Management roles to Océ. Although formal consultation has not yet started with AEGON and the new employer, we will do everything possible to promote and protect our members’ interests when the time comes.”

ENDS

Note to Editors:
Aegis the Union looks after the interests of people who work for the AEGON UK group of companies, except staff at Lytham who are represented by Unite.

Aegis are an independent trade union affiliated to the TUC.

Contacts:

Brian Linn
General Secretary
brian.linn@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5767

Fiona Steele
Deputy General Secretary
fiona.steele@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5665

Neil Crew
Assistant General Secretary
neil.crew@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 4849

Donna Morris
Communications Officer
donna.morris@aegon.co.uk
tel: 0131 549 5474

In Britain today there are more than 29 million people in paid employment. Most people spend up to a quarter of their lives at work – longer, on average, than anywhere else in Europe.

Work can be – should be – satisfying, enjoyable and rewarding, and most employers treat their workers fairly. But some do not, and even the best bosses can make mistakes from time to time.

That is where unions come in. Unions exist to help people at work. Unions want to make the workplace a better place. Aegis wants to help make AEGON UK the best place to work it possibly can be.

Unions work on the simple principle that while an employer might be able to ignore the views of a single worker, if all workers speak together with one voice the employer has to take notice.

Unions encourage their members to take part in collective decisions on workplace issues and these views are then put to the employer.

Union members are no different to anyone else, but over the years their membership has helped us get the terms and conditions many of us now take for granted.

Almost every improvement in workplace conditions came about following pressure from trade unions: equal pay laws, stronger health and safety legislation, statutory redundancy pay, the National Minimum Wage and pay negotiation agreements, amongst other things.

Are you a member? If not, join us. We’re here to look after you at work.