The Government needs to do more to expand the social safety net and protect retired public servants with an adequate pension, says Michael Annisette, President National Trade Union Centre (Natuc). Annisette told the Guardian this yesterday while commenting on President George Maxwell Richards' remarks at the ceremonial opening of the Third Session of the Ninth Parliament on Wednesday. Richards indicated that the pension arrangements for public servants needs to be reviewed, as many of these citizens were facing hardship from the economic situation. "It is no exaggeration to state that many retired public servants live in penury. Under the present arrangements, these pension provisions remained fixed and unaltered for the duration of the retirees' lives," he said. Commenting on this, Annisette said that he has been raising this issue as a labour leader and Senator.
"I said that the Property Tax should not be levied on civil servants who are retired. We have a situation where servants who retired 20 years ago are living on that same pension," he said. Robert Giuseppi, Vice President, Natuc said what Richards pointed out is not news for the labour movement. "We have been saying this for decades in the labour movement. The benefits and compensation package for retired daily, weekly and monthly paid Government workers are the worse," he said. Giuseppi continued by saying that the Government which is one of the largest employers in T&T needs to do more for its retirees. "The Government as an employer has not made any real effort to improve the lives of retirees. The Government has been saying that there is not enough money, but we are insisting that the Government take their resources and use it for the benefit of our pensioners," he said.
Richards also said that "ill health compounds the situation for the elderly" and other factors like inflation. "Pensioners and other persons on fixed incomes are fully exposed to price inflation," he said. Annisette said he has been suggesting a "social endowment" plan where the Government has a fund for each citizen, that grows over time. "In this way, when people retire they would have subsidies to rely on," Annisette said. Giuseppi agreed with Richards and said other issues like the security of pensioners need to be looked at. "We have a situation where the elderly are being attacked and robbed for their little monthly pensions. The Government need to take a social responsibility to protect these vulnerable citizens," he said. Annisette said that any plan for better pensions for retired Government employees will take time. "It will be challenging to the Government's coffers because of the lack of funds. But there must be some mechanism to make this a reality," he added.