Pensioners claim their rights in Vitoria and Bilbao – Norte Exprés
Pensioners from the Basque Country and Navarra have claimed this Saturday, International Day for the Elderly, that “rights do not expire with age.”
The Euskal Herria Pensioners’ Movement and associations of relatives of users of the residences have demonstrated in Pamplona, San Sebastian, Vitoria and Bilbao, where the march between Moyúa and the City Hall has been supported by hundreds of people.
During the tour, the usual slogans of the pensioners’ mobilizations were chanted, such as “Rise in the pension equal to inflation” or “Decent pensions, yes; misery, no” and carried banners in defense of public health or against deductions for contributions to pension plans.
In the manifesto read at the end of the demonstration of Bilbao The loss of purchasing power of pensioners due to the application of the revaluation index and due to high inflation has been denounced, which they consider «a consequence of improving business profits at the expense of raising prices».
They have also criticized that the situation in Osakidetza and in dependency care services “continues to worsen”.
In the case of residences, they have attributed it to the “privatizing and economistic” criteria of the institutions, which have given rise to a “business and profit model with criteria that seek economic profitability.”
For this reason, they have called for “rethinking a model of public care, close, dignified and of quality, with material and sufficient human resources.” EFE