Trade union organisations protest Tuesday against pension cuts

A Common Front and Fenprof called a concentration for Tuesday in Lisbon to denounce the intention of the General Pensions Fund (CGA) to reduce the amount of about three thousand retirement pensions previously awarded.

It concerns the correction of almost 3,000 pensions, including of teachers, attributed between May and August this year, after the CGA detected an error in the calculation that led to them being fixed above the amount laid down in the law.

Today, in a statement, Fenprof points out that the initiative under the motto “CGA: IT IS NOT ‘ERRO’! IT IS INTENTION!”, also aims to “repudiate the demand to return the money that now claims to have been paid in excess”.

In the protest action, the Common Front and Fenprof will demand the end of the cuts, the cancellation of return notifications and the full payment of the correct value of the reforms to which the workers are entitled.

“ The trade union organizations reject the official narrative of an alleged ‘error’ of parameterization committed by the CGA, arguing that a new and abusive reinterpretation of the application of the calculation formula defined in May 2007 is underway,” Fenprof said.

According to the union, by “suppressing the consideration of years of discounts, ignoring part of the employees’ contribution career to avoid the application of more favourable pension training rates and not considering the bonuses provided by the law, by increased time of service, the public administration disengages the financial effort incurred throughout the life of the contribution of the social benefit due”.

For Fenprof, this practice disregards Article 63(4) of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic, which states that all working time contributes to the calculation of old-age and invalidity pensions.

The protest is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 a.m. with the Ministry of Labour, in Lisbon, and will have the participation of public administration workers from different sectors.