Former BHS staff and union representatives will tomorrow visit the offices of Sir Philip Green in the latest attempt to force him to personally plug the collapsed department store‘s £571 million pension deficit.
More than 100,000 people have signed a petition urging Green to live up to his promise to “sort” the BHS pension scheme.
The petition is set to be delivered to the headquarters of Green‘s Arcadia Group retail empire by John Hannett, the general secretary of the shopworkers‘ trade union Usdaw.
The massive black hole in BHS‘ pension scheme was revealed shortly after the heritage retailer went into administration in April this year, just 13 months after Green – who had owned BHS for 15 years – controversially sold the chain to former bankrupt Dominic Chappell for just £1.
READ MORE: Court has power to seize Philip Green’s assets to plug BHS pension deficit: Pensions Regulator
When he was grilled by MPs during a parliamentary inquiry in June, Green made a promise to deal with the problems facing the pension scheme.
However, a deal with the Pensions Regulator was never achieved and the pensions watchdog has since launched legal proceedings against both Green and Chappell.
With more than 20,000 members in the BHS pension scheme, Hannett said Green needed cover at least £250 million worth.
“Our priority is to see Sir Phillip do the right thing and deliver on his promise to ‘sort‘ the pension fund,” Hannet said.
“If he wants to recover any reputational credibility he must not haggle his way out of his responsibilities, he must make a full contribution and do it quickly.
“That is the least he can do for former staff, many of whom spent their entire working life at BHS.”
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