Save our Red Stripe Pension, VOTE NO!

  • by: Jon Loads
  • recipient: Financial Services Commission Jamaica

Red Stripers for Pension Justice, formally indicate our dissatisfaction with the proposed surplus distribution and conversion from defined benefit to defined contribution of the Desnoes & Geddes Jamaica Limited Pension Plan.

• We believe that the proposed reasons for the distribution has no merit as the surplus has grown over the last 20 years and is expected to continue in the future. 
• We believe that the trustees have not acted properly and have not acted in the best interest of the membership of the Plan.
• We also believe that the management of the company has erroneously proposed benefits to members, especially orally, which are fictitious and at best indicate half- truths. Upon thorough and independent evaluation it will be proven that these benefits have been grossly overstated, if at all they can be classified as additional benefits.
• As such we have requested the removal of member nominated trustees and their replacement with more experienced and competent professionals.
• We will be proposing amendments to the Plan’s Trust Deed regarding the election of member trustees. 

• Further, we will be proposing to the Minister of Finance and the FSC that legislative changes be implemented to guard against multinationals that are disrupting healthy defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in Jamaica in order to take surplus.


Concerned Members

Mrs. Nicolette Jenez Senior


Director


Financial Services Commission


39-43 Barbados Avenue


Kingston 5


Dear Sirs,


              We write to formally indicate our dissatisfaction with the proposed surplus distribution and conversion from defined benefit to defined contribution of the Desnoes & Geddes Jamaica Limited Pension Plan.


• We believe that the proposed reasons for the distribution has no merit as the surplus has grown over the last 20 years and is expected to continue in the future. As such the sole reason for the management of Red Stripe to propose the changes is to access a significant portion of the surplus, which is estimated at $3.8 billion.


• We believe that the trustees have not acted properly and have not acted in the best interest of the membership of the Plan.


• We also believe that the management of the company has erroneously proposed benefits to members, especially orally, which are fictitious and at best indicate half- truths. Upon thorough and independent evaluation it will be proven that these benefits have been grossly overstated, if at all they can be classified as additional benefits.


• As such we have requested the removal of member nominated trustees and their replacement with more experienced and competent professionals.


• We will be proposing amendments to the Plan’s Trust Deed regarding the election of member trustees. We believe that if a significant majority of the Plan membership is comprised of deferred vested members then at least 2 of the four member nominated trustees should come from the pool of deferred vested members.


• Further, we will be proposing to the Minister of Finance and the FSC that legislative changes be implemented to guard against multinationals that are disrupting healthy defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in Jamaica in order to take surplus.


We ask that the FSC immediately intervene to halt the ongoing process of dismantling a healthy DB pension plan. We hope that the above mentioned concerns will be adequate for you to take decisive action on behalf of the membership of the D&G Pension Plan.


Yours truly,


Concerned Members


cc. The Hon. Mr. Audley Shaw, Minister of Finance, Ministry of Finance and Public


Signed by:


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