- Title: SPAIN: Protests against pensions cap
- Date: 17th December 2012
- Summary: MADRID, SPAIN (DECEMBER 17, 2012) (REUTERS) (NIGHT SHOTS) UNION LEADERS AND PROTESTERS HOLDING BANNER CCOO UNION LEADER IGNACIO FERNANDEZ TOXO AND UGT UNION LEADER CANDIDO MENDEZ HOLDING BANNER PROTESTERS MARCHING (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) UGT UNION LEADER, CANDIDO MENDEZ, SAYING: "Precisely we want to reject this, the cuts in pensions. There are a lot of families in Spain t
- Embargoed: 1st January 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Spain
- Country: Spain
- Topics: Economy
- Reuters ID: LVA988H0V56SFIXJZN13LDYC8MXB
- Story Text: Around two thousand Spaniards rallied on Monday (December 17) in Madrid to protests the Government's decision to cap pension rise to meet deficit target.
Last month the ruling People's Party announced that Spain will not make its usual end-of-year review to adjust pensions for 2012 inflation, a move to meet deficit goals that hits around 9 million retired people.
The government, breaking an electoral campaign pledge, said it would instead raise pensions by 1 to 2 percent in 2013 and tap reserve funds to ease liquidity tensions around pension payments.
Already tired by waves of austerity measures, thousands of pensioners and ordinary citizens took to the streets waving red union flags and chanting slogans against the reforms implemented in health and education.
The demonstration was called by Spain's two largest unions UGT and CCOO, which believe the government is attacking the welfare state.
"Precisely we want to reject this, the cuts in pensions. There are a lot of families in Spain that exclusively depend on one income, the pension of the grandfather or the grandmother. We also want to reject the imposition of legal fees in justice, because it closes opportunities to have a legal defence," said UGT leader Candido Mendez.
The reforms in the justice system introduced by the Spanish government include the elimination of substitute judges, a reduction in the number of leave days for justice workers and the institution of fees for certain legal work carried out in the public legal sector.
Under the slogan "Let's take to the streets against cuts in pensions", the protesters marched from Neptuno to Sol square in downtown Madrid.
Organisers said the demonstration was mirrored in more than 55 cities across the country.
66-year old pensioner Mari Angeles la Fuente said that the austerity measures implemented in the health care system are hitting the pensioners hard.
"We have to pay for medicines. We have to pay, in Madrid, one euro for each recipe, now we also have to pay for the ambulances. They are not raising our pensions, they are cutting it a lot," she said.
Spain's fiscal situation left no choice over the decision as meeting a 2012 deficit target of 6.3 percent of output was the top priority for Spanish authorities, the centre-right government said.
The move was unexpected as Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy had said earlier this year that he would protect pensions, the only remaining campaign promise he had not been forced to break as Spain was dragged into the centre of the euro zone debt crisis.
Miguel Aparicio blamed the banks for the economic crisis and said that pensioners should not pay for the consequences of a bad management.
"The big financial powers have brought the crisis, banks and saving banks. They have been buying lands and raising its value to millions. They have built three million houses and they want the people to pay for them. What has that to do with pensioners?" said the 81-year-old pensioners.
Under Spanish law, pensions should be reviewed each year in line with the inflation data of November, which came out at 2.9 percent on Friday (December 14). By not applying the rule, the government will save around 3.8 billion euros and keep its EU-agreed deficit target within reach. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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