BBC
Lindsey Hopkins believes former miners were “thrown to the scrapheap”
Former Welsh miners are urging the UK government to release £2.3bn of pension reserves so they can pay them out.
The government released the equivalent of the Miners’ Pension Scheme (MPS) in the October Budget, but money is still frozen for those on the alternative pension scheme, the British Coal Staff Superannuation Scheme (BCSSS).
Lindsey Hopkins, 75, is one of more than 3,000 former miners who could be affected and said the government had “thrown us to the wolves” by not treating the two projects the same.
The Department of Energy and Net Zero said it would discuss the matter with the Treasury.
Mr Hopkins began working at the Merthyr Vale mine and continued in the industry until 2010 at private mines following privatisation.
He retired at age 60 due to health problems, including chest and joint problems.
He said he was “very bitter” that the BCSSS reserves had not been paid to retirees.
“Coal, steel and iron put this country where it is and look at us now: they threw us on the scrapheap,” he said.
Mr Hopkins said he believed successive governments had mistreated miners and their pensions.
“I have no trust in the government. Whoever the government is, I have no trust. They have their claws on it and they are going to keep it rather than give it to someone else.
“It’s not theirs, it’s ours.”
BCSSS administrator Bleddyn Hancock says former miners ‘suffered, bled and died’ for money
Under a deal signed 30 years ago, the government is entitled to half of excess cash in exchange for a guarantee of its value, even though no money has been withdrawn since 2015.
Previous Labor manifestos indicated that MPS and BCSSS pension reserves would be released, but the 2024 manifesto only mentioned MPS.
Bleddyn Hancock, BCSSS pension trustee, said he believed it was an error, but it urgently needed to be corrected.
“It’s something that’s close to our hearts,” he said.
“We earned this money, we had to fight for this money. We suffered, we bled for this and we died for this.
“It’s our money and we want the government to end this injustice and give us our money back.”
Mr Hancock said the money would increase the pensions of BCSSS scheme recipients by around fifty per cent at a time when many are struggling with the cost of living.
“We are all old. We are not saving for the future. The rainy day is here now.”
Former miner Leslie Davies calls for action ‘as soon as possible’
Leslie Davies, 77, of Nixonville in Merthyr Vale, said he was seeing former colleagues die and action needed to be taken quickly and fairness was needed between the two pension schemes.
“I don’t know why they didn’t do it because we all worked in the same sector and it’s time they settled our pension as soon as possible,” he said.
“We are dying as a group and there are men who will not get this pension. I don’t know how long it will take to get it and there will still be a few.”
Former miner Gareth Paine, 65, from Troedyrhiw, said he thought the government “hopes we leave”, but “at the end of the day we all worked in the same place and we all took the same risks”.
Former miner Gareth Paine says miners ‘all took the same risks’
BCSSS trustees recently met with Industry Minister Sarah Jones and Bleddyn Hancock said it was a positive meeting.
“She was very sympathetic and I think she would like to do something about it, but the matter is now with the Treasury and we are waiting for their approval which I hope we get, but it is not a done deal .so the more pressure we put on the government to end this injustice, the better,” he said.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said: “The UK Coal Pension Scheme operates in a different way to the Miners’ Pension Scheme, as agreed with the scheme trustees.
“Minister Jones recently met with BCSSS administrators and committed to discussing their proposals with Treasury.”
“The government has not taken money from the scheme’s surplus since 2015. All of this surplus is used only to fund future pensions.”
