The Platform of Pensioners of Girona has decided to launch a municipal offensive to demand a real audit of Social Security and to safeguard public pensions after an assembly held this Thursday at the Sant Narcís Civic Center.
Agreement to present a motion in the Girona City Council
During the meeting, the attendees agreed to present a motion in the municipal plenary of the Girona City Council. However, the proposal is not on the agenda of the plenary scheduled for next Monday and is expected to be presented at a later session. The Platform seeks for this motion to be replicated in other city councils and for it to be subsequently transferred to the political groups of the Parliament of Catalonia, the Congress of Deputies, and the Senate
Demand compliance with Law 21/2021 and transparency in accounts
The central axis of the initiative is to demand the effective compliance of Law 21/2021, of December 28, which provides for the carrying out of a public audit of the Social Security accounts. Pensioners denounce that, despite the existence of the law, the audit continues to be applied without transparency. During the debate, the importance of this claim was emphasized
"Without audit there is no truth, and without truth there is no social justice" - Assembly of the Platform of Pensioners of Girona
Pension Shielding and Other Demands
In the assembly, the need to constitutionally shield the annual revaluation of pensions according to the real CPI was insisted upon. The future of public pensions was also debated in the face of the expansion of company pension plans. In this regard, it was demanded that, if there are company contributions, these should be fully paid to Social Security
- Eliminate the gender gap in pensions
- Equalize the minimum pension to the Interprofessional Minimum Wage
- Purge improper expenses from the system
- Remove penalties for pensioners with more than 40 years of contributions who have anticipated retirement due to circumstances beyond their control
Condemnation of armed conflicts and rejection of increased military spending
The assembly expressed explicit condemnation of the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza and the chronic nature of the war in Ukraine and other armed conflicts. The pensioners showed outright rejection of the United States' proposal for NATO countries to increase military spending to 5% of GDP.
Mobilizations and institutional support
During the next month, joint mobilizations are foreseen, called by the Pensioner Tide and the State Coordinator for the Defense of the Public Pension System (COESPE), to which the Girona Platform has announced it will actively join. The assembly was attended by the Councilor for Elderly People of the City Council, Gemma Martínez, and union representatives from the UGT of the Girona regions, who expressed their support for the demands made
"Pensions are not an expense, they are a hard-won right, and their defense involves sustained mobilization, institutional pressure, and civic disobedience in the face of any attempt to cut or privatize them" - Assembly of the Platform of Pensioners of Girona