It's been no secret that many people have been paying for pensions only to be told they won't receive what they have already paid for (funny how a Ponzi scheme is illegal unless it's the government running it), or private firms telling employees if they don't sign new contracts with worsened pensions, they will be sacked.

I understand the government doesn't give a shit and has shown it is willing to illegally make retrospective changes to the law (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R_(Rei..._and_Pensions).

However I'm wondering why private firms have been allowed to get away with what they have done? We have had loads of news about firms telling employees they must accept a worse newer contract or be made redundant, and the fact it's happened in a few places without any real resistance has allowed this idea to gain momentum.

I was just thinking, say for the first unionised firm to try to pull such a stunt, surely the union should have turned round and negotiated something along the lines of: We do not want to accept any change in terms. However if top level management can prove the situation is as claimed, firstly major cuts must be made to senior salaries, with the agreement to state these will not rise quicker than average staff wages. Secondly, in lieu of a portion of a pension, our members will reluctantly accept shares worth say 30% more than the reduction in pension (shares to be received pro rata during employment rather than at retirement time). Obviously this will eventually lead to the workers (combined) becoming the majority shareholders and able to assert such rights. If you don't like that plan, sack us all and face us in court.

To me it just struck me as the simple common sense solution, and I suspect actions along these lines didn't happen as the people in charge wish to enjoy ever inflating salaries while getting the workers to bear the finanical responsibility for financial incompetency of the seniors, and to allow this to happen, union bosses were paid off.

I'm wondering if anyone can find holes in my idea, as the idea just came to me, but to more I think about it, the more I wonder how we have ended up where we are.