AA faces strike after relations break down over pension row

Thousands of patrollers and other staff at the Automobile Association (AA) are being balloted for industrial action by the GMB union.

The move is the latest internal turmoil for the company, which has suffered several bouts of unrest over the past six years, since it was sold, then merged with Saga.

The GMB said its members had reacted "adversely" to planned changes to their pension arrangements, which officials warned would affect payments.

The Independent Democratic Union (IDU), which also represents staff at the AA, is considering a strike ballot too.

GMB national officer Paul Maloney said: "The AA wants to cap the amount that will count towards pensionable salary.

"Our members have reacted adversely to this proposal, which would severely dent their entitlement.

"The GMB is currently balloting our members for industrial action and we cannot rule out the first strike in the AA's 105-year history."

Alistair Maclean, national officer for the IDU, said: "It is appalling that AA staff have worked flat out through the worst winter conditions in 30 years, only to then be told by the gluttonous private equity fat cats that they want to squeeze more blood out of the stone to line their own pockets.

"Despite the IDU's strenuous efforts to put forward reasonable alternatives to the company's original proposals, it would seem greed has outweighed the value those at the top of the organisation place on the future pension benefits of their staff.

"An emergency pension trustees meeting has been called for tomorrow. If the company manages to get the trustees to agree their changes the IDU will have no alternative but to ballot our members on strike action."

The AA said it planned to alter its pension scheme, but would keep it attractive to staff.

A spokesman said: "We are in negotiations over some proposed pension changes.

"We have an excellent pension scheme within the AA at the moment. We are looking to retain that.

"The situation is changing for all companies and we have got to review how we fund it but we are absolutely intent on keeping our defined benefits scheme."

The AA, which also provides other services such as insurance, cut its 10,000-strong workforce by one third after being taken over by private equity firms CVC and Permira in 2004.

It included a call centre at Erskine in Renfrewshire being closed with the loss of some 300 jobs, leaving patrollers as the AA's sole presence in Scotland.

In 2007, the AA was merged with Saga, which provides holidays and insurance for the over-50s. The merged firm, called, Acromas, has been accused by unions of putting more jobs at risk because of its debt burden of nearly 5 billion.

The GMB held a strike ballot among AA vehicle recovery staff in 2005 over claims their "excessive" workload was being further increased.

Strike could put skids on AA rating

MORE than a century after being formed by motorists angered at police speed traps, the Automobile Association remains the British drivers' favourite – despite its increasingly fractious relationship with its staff.

In the fiercely competitive breakdown market, the AA still comes top in independent consumer surveys, while its brand is rated far ahead of rivals.

However, this makes the potential damage to the once self-styled "fourth emergency service" all the greater if its front-line staff strike for the first time in its history.

Long gone are the days of saluting patrolmen, AA shops in every town and calls for assistance being answered locally.

In such a cut-throat sector, the AA has become, like other firms, part of a huge conglomerate, with a single call centre – in the West Midlands – serving its 15 million customers. Stranded motorists are no longer ignored if they are non-members, but signed up as the next sales opportunity.

A survey by Which? magazine last year of 13,000 drivers who had broken down placed the AA top among eight firms, although it charged the most for combined roadside assistance, recovery and home start.

The AA also retains its pre-eminent brand reputation. The latest Superbrands ranking, last year, placed the firm 43rd overall – 36 places above its nearest rival the RAC. However, former senior AA officials said the company no longer offered the complete service it had in the past.

Neil Greig, its former head of policy in Scotland, said while patrols had gone the extra mile during last month's big freeze, they had been cut overall.

Mr Greig, now director of policy and research for the Institute of Advanced Motorists, said: "The AA is still very popular but in some areas patrols have been reduced, with call-outs made instead by local garages overnight and in the north of Scotland."

But he said the AA still performed a valuable service for stricken drivers despite advances in car technology because most breakdowns were self-inflicted and easily fixed – with flat batteries and tyres among the most common.