THE former president of the National Union of Mineworkers has revealed the pension pot he paid into from his decades in a local colliery earns him little more than £3 a week.
Arthur Scargill – who was in the role from 1982 while 2002 – formerly worked at Woolley Colliery from 1953.
He revealed this week that the Mineworkers’ Pension Scheme – which is a key part of Labour’s manifesto for next month’s general election – nets him just £3.12 per week.
The party vowed to increase miners’ payments after years of wrangling with the Conservative-led government.
In his letter to the Barnsley Chronicle, he wrote: “I rarely write letters to newspapers but feel I must respond to your front-page story last week, headlined ‘Labour pledges £700-a-year boost for ex-miners’.
“I speak from experience – I receive a good pension as a retired, full-time NUM official, but after working as a miner my MPS pension today is £3.12 per week.”
