ARFON MP Hywel Williams is backing Bangor University staff protesting against proposed cuts to their pensions.

The staff have been picketing and held a rally on High Street on Monday.

Mr Williams said: "They are clearly going to lose out very substantially if the changes the Bangor Universities want to bring in are brought in, so they need support. My sympathies are with the staff and the university who say they cannot contribute more. These people have paid into their pensions and expect to get the money they were promised. Of greatest concern is the hit that individual staff members may be forced to take and the debilitating effect this will have on morale and retention, not to mention the effect on students. The government is hoping the issue goes away. I have written to the universities minister calling on the Government to consider where additional funding can be secured. This matter is so serious I believe central government must step in to provide policy leadership and if needed, the resources to resolve the crisis."