Construction firms failing on pensions

Firms working in the construction industry are failing to register all their employees for benefits such as pensions, it was revealed today.

This is despite firms in the sector being legally required to register employees under the Registered Employment Agreement (Construction Industry Pensions Assurance & Sick Pay).

New figures from the Construction Industry Monitoring Agency (CIMA) show there are currently 145 prosecutions going through the courts against building firms which have failed to register all their employees for a pension, sick pay or death-in-service.

The figures were revealed at the official opening of the agency's new offices in Dublin by the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern this afternoon.

Dr Brian Aylward, chairman of CIMA, said that there was a "worrying number" of workers contacting the organisation claiming that employers were deducting weekly pension contributions but not returning it to the scheme.

He encouraged more workers to check their pension contribution history by contacting the organisation.

According to CIMA, the number of building workers contributing to the industry's Construction  Workers' Pension Scheme (CWPS) has increased by over 17 per cent to 94,000.

The Taiseach said this afternoon that CIMA has made a major contribution to the rapid expansion of the scheme.

"With assets now in excess of €1 billion and registered membership of over 90,000, it is the largest private pension scheme in the country. That stands as a powerful statement of commitment on the part of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), the trade unions and, of course, the management and staff of CIMA," said Ahern.

"The success of the scheme also reflects buoyant and sustained activity in construction over quite a long period," he added.