Protests For Fairer Pensions March In Madrid

THOUSANDS of group – including lawyers, architects, solicitors, and different professionals – took to nan streets of Madrid adjacent nan centre connected Saturday, September 27 successful a wide protestation against nan debased pensions from backstage communal security funds. Traffic was stopped, nan buses diverted, and nan streets thrown into a complete standstill arsenic nan parade of protestors, holding up signs pinch nan #J2 activity and nan motto “1×1 Para Tod@s” marked connected them, marched nan streets to conflict for a much adjacent strategy of status for these professions.

The #J2 movement, which was calved astir 3 years ago, is simply a protest requesting decent pensions for nan aforementioned professions, who, alternatively than paying societal security, salary alternatively contributions to a backstage communal security money … and upon reaching status age, lament to find that their pensions are shockingly debased (sometimes little than €200 per month). The #J2 protests request a system, which they are calling a pasarela, aliases “bridge,” that would let these professionals to cod a nationalist pension alternatively than nan communal security company’s benefits. 

The protestors march done nan bosom of Madrid.
Photo Credit: Natascha Rivera

How nan conflict came about

In Spain, immoderate professionals were required to lend to these communal security costs until 1996, erstwhile a caller norm was enforced that would let them to either stay successful nan communal money aliases subordinate Social Security. However, galore were not informed of nan change, and others, though alert of nan caller legislation, chose to stay successful nan communal money to debar losing their contributions. Now, nan activity demands a gateway strategy to transportation their contributions to nan Social Security self-employment strategy successful Spain, aliases RETA, arsenic it is known.

This is simply a problem that affects much than 100,000 workers successful Spain (some 70,000 lawyers and solicitors and astir 35,000 architects and method architects).

So far, nan PSOE put guardant a measure successful May of this twelvemonth to create nan pasarela, but galore specifications including who qualifies for nan bridge, really to person nan funds, questions regarding retired professionals nary longer practicing, which protections will beryllium put successful place, and different obligations and rules are still murky waters for officials arsenic good arsenic nan affected professionals. The measure is now successful nan last stages of speech successful Congress.