WORKERS at Rolls-Royce - including those in East Lancashire - are set to meet their local MPs to discuss the firm's pension crisis.

Union members from the Barnoldswick site will join colleagues from other plants on October 28 to meet with their local MPs at the Houses of Parliament to highlight the plight of the members of the Rolls-Royce pension fund.

Around 18,000 Amicus members at Rolls-Royce, including 900 at Barnoldswick, will be balloted over possible industrial action during the coming weeks.

And workers throughout the country are also set to meet on Wednesday for their first mass meeting to fight company proposals to slash their pension scheme.

Pendle's MP Gordon Prentice, who is out of the country on a Commonwealth Parliamentary Conference, is to attend the meeting at the end of the month.

A spokesman for Mr Prentice said: "The meeting is in his diary.

"He gets back the week beginning October 20 so he should be able to attend to discuss the issue which is of great concern to everyone involved."

Under the company's proposals Rolls-Royce pension scheme members will see their pension cut by around 20 per cent and will suffer further losses due to reduced annual increases.

Amicus members at Rolls-Royce are angry that the company, who are facing a £1.1billion pension deficit, are asking members to pay an unfair burden and reductions of future benefits and those already earned.

The company is looking for benefit cuts totalling £800million but are only prepared to commit an extra £90million in contributions over a three-year period.

Rolls-Royce has a £19billion order book and has recently used company reserves to boost shareholder dividends by £80million.