ANGRY town hall workers are demanding action from council leaders to guarantee their pension rights will be unaffected by privatisation.

Council staff in Middlesbrough say they want assurances that the cash they have put into pension schemes will be protected, when a private firm takes over the running of some council departments.

Union leaders have already raised concerns over the jobs of the 1,049 council workers, and now officials have been inundated with pension inquiries.

Jeff Grace, branch secretary for ACTS, the white collar branch of the Transport and General Workers Union (TGWU), said: "Many of our members have been contributing to their pensions for a great number of years.

"It seems a simple matter of ensuring that those pensions are protected. We just can't see why any blue chip company cannot do this."

Four private sector companies, Amey, Capita Business Services, Hyder Business Services and PriceWaterhouse Coopers have made their presentations to Labour-controlled Middlesbrough Borough Council.

Mike Brider, divisional officer for TGWU, said one of the four bidders had said it would not be applying for assisted body status (ABS).

ABS means the company will guarantee existing pension rights.

He said: "One of the bidders, Capita, has informed this union they will not apply for ABS, and will merely look at a broadly comparable pension scheme.

"That is simply not good enough. This union would expect a Labour council to ensure that any company involved in the bidding would be guaranteeing the full pension rights of all workers."

But the council says to do that would be anti-competitive.

Spokesman Mike Clark said: "We firmly believe that selecting a strategic partner will protect and improve the services in Middlesbrough and secure jobs within the council.

"Three of the shortlisted companies have confirmed they will seek ABS. The fourth said it would prefer to continue with its own pension scheme.

"We have examined this company's pension scheme and in many material aspects it is as good as, or better than, a local government pension scheme."

A decision on the preferred bidder is expected within the next four weeks.