On Wednesday, the 7th of May at 3 p.m., the 18th nationwide protest rally for justice and dignity began in Ljubljana’s Republic Square. Andrej Peterle of the Voice of Pensioners party (Glas upokojencev) pointed out that they had come together as one voice because they had had enough of poverty, humiliation, ignorance and government arrogance. There are more and more people who can no longer survive on meagre pensions and shamefully low wages.
“We are not asking for privileges. We are only asking for a fair and decent life,” Andrej Peterle was clear at the rally. “While we are living our lives, this government is writing laws for itself,” he said critically, adding that the law was unjust. “We are simply saying NO to such a law! We will vote AGAINST!”
He explained that they had also come together for the purpose of tabling a law that would correct the injustices that had occurred over the last 15 years, in particular to all those pensioners who had a vesting percentage of 57.25 percent. “This is not just a number, this is the pain of thousands who have worked for years and built this country,” he was clear. “Enough of discrimination and dehumanisation. We are also strongly opposed to the new pension reform, which pushes old and new pensioners deeper into poverty. Thank you, Mr Golob, but we do not need such laws,” he stressed, adding that they will no longer remain silent when pensioners are being stripped of their dignity and forced to struggle to survive. “It is time to raise our voices, because only united are we stronger!” Peterle was also clear.
Pavel Rupar, President of the Voice of Pensioners party, then expressed his satisfaction at the fact that so many people had gathered at the protest. The Slovenian anthem was then played. Rupar recalled that for two years now, they have been fighting for pensioners’ rights (better pensions, correction of injustices). “If it hadn’t been for you, Golob and others would never have given us Christmas bonuses. This is our fight, we won it,” he said, expressing his regret that no one has corrected the injustice of retirement in 13 years. “The Voice of Pensioners will do it,” he said.
Alenka Orel, Chair of the Council of the Voice of Pensioners party, spoke at the rally about the injustice that has happened to almost 90,000 pensioners. It was not a mistake, she said. “This is systematic, constitutionally questionable and morally reprehensible gender discrimination. Between 2013 and 2023, the state underpaid men, and for a time also women, with pensions at 57.25 and 63.5 vesting percent, respectively, even though they had the same length of service, the same salaries and made the same contributions to the pension fund. This is not constitutional, and it is not European,” she said in a sign of criticism, adding that this is a violation of Article 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of Slovenia, which states that we are all equal before the law.
She pointed out that the state tacitly acknowledged its discrimination in 2023, when it finally introduced the same rate of 63.5 percent for all. “But beware, all those who retired before then were left with lower pensions, forgotten by all, ignored and harmed. Up to 6.25 percentage points of a difference, more than 100 euros less a month and tens of thousands of euros lost, and for life. This is theft. It is a disgrace.” That is why, on behalf of the Voice of Pensioners party, they have proposed a law for adoption, which would correct the injustice in the assessment of pensions for all those who retired between 2013 and the 1st of January 2023 and were discriminated against.
The law in question provides for the recalculation of pensions according to fair and equal criteria, the reimbursement of the difference for all the months and years of injustice, the possibility to purchase additional service years allowed by the state after 2023, and the elimination of discrimination by gender, as well as by date of retirement. She reminded the audience that the new pension law reintroduces different vesting percentages, creating new discrimination. She called on people to collect 5,000 signatures in support of the proposed law.
“We need to be active and tell the gentlemen at Gregoričeva Street [where the offices of the government are located] that their time is running out,” television show host Boris Tomašič pointed out at the rally, adding that the first test will happen on Sunday, as it is not only a vote against privileges, but also a vote for a better future. He also officially introduced his new book at the rally. As the protesters were talking about shameful pensions, he also read an excerpt of an incident that happened during one of the broadcasts of his show, which particularly shocked him. A pensioner, who was struggling to get from one day to the next, called into the studio and confessed that she was making lunch for herself, which consisted of a stock cube and a few lettuce leaves. Tomasič stressed that it was undignified, inappropriate and shameful that people could not afford a decent living after 40 years of work. “Enough is enough! Let’s go to the referendum, let’s go to the protest, let’s go to the elections and let’s bring back normal Slovenia!”
“We have a Prime Minister that is the biggest liar in the history of our country, the coalition that lies the most and that cares only about its own asses,” he continued, noting that they will now even get a new Falcon jet aircraft. He also recalled that while money is being squandered, for example on upgrades to railway stations, on computers, where 6-7 million went, etc., on the other hand, no money is being found for pensioners.
Gašper Jug, Chairman of the Young Pensioners’ Committee, founded by the Voice of Pensioners and the 1st of October Institute (Inštitut 1. oktober), stressed the importance of intergenerational coexistence. “Helping each other is very important,” he said, adding that young people are also aware that they themselves would like to one day enjoy the fruits of their own labour. “The current government, however, is not working in that direction,” he was critical, adding that the Voice of Pensioners would take care of the wellbeing of pensioners.
Trade union representative Milena Koselj Šmilt then criticised the wage reform in the public sector, as the most generous pay increases came for those who already receive the highest salaries, i.e. officials, and the pension reform, where no compromises were sought. On the latter, she pointed out that the workers would once again foot the bill, as the state had given up nothing. “Perhaps we should change the negotiators in the trade unions,” she noted, adding that she couldn’t help but wonder when the employers would also have enough of everything.
MP Zvone Černač of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) invited those present to exercise their constitutional right and take part in the referendum on Sunday. “Let’s circle AGAINST on the question of privileges and, at the same time, let’s tell the Golob government that it’s time to go.” They have done a lot of bad things in the last three years, he said. “When they took power, they first raised taxes, they delayed by almost three years the law on long-term care, which was adopted under the previous government, and they harmed every beneficiary in nursing homes by 10 to 20 thousand euros,” he was critical, adding that only their privileged are better off now than they were before the arrival of this government.
“To paraphrase the pre-election slogan of one of the coalition’s parties, they acted according to the principle: change for the people, prestige for the chosen.” On the 11th of May, a law will be decided on which will bring pensions of between 2,000 and 3,100 euros to the chosen. “The money for the allowances will come out of your pockets, out of taxpayers’ money. The period of receiving the pension is somewhere between 20 and 30 years, which means that these privileged people will receive half a million euros or half of the Nobel Prize during the time they will be receiving these pensions.” As he pointed out, the law is unfair to all 650,000 pensioners, who have had to work all their lives and receive much smaller pensions. Many are not even guaranteed for their full pensionable life. “This law is also unfair to the artists themselves,” as many creative cultural workers are being left out. He also criticised the ruling party for calling for a boycott of the referendum.
Černač also recalled that the Golob government had refused an extraordinary increase in pensions at the beginning of 2023, even though there had been a high rise in food prices beforehand. “This year, however, it is buying support for the pension reform with a so-called Christmas bonus, which will be exhausted before it is even paid out for the first time with a tax on long-term care and a rise in the premium for compulsory health insurance. It is high time, therefore, for Golob to fly to the warm southern places he loves to visit and leave responsibility to those who care about the nation.” The first step on this journey will take place this Sunday, the 11th of May. “Let’s go to the referendum en masse and vote AGAINST!”
Rupar was also critical of the authorities’ boasting that 750 euros is the minimum pension for full-time work. He said that this was not true, because at the same moment as they announced that, they took 40 euros for insurance, 15 euros for the mandatory RTV Slovenia (national media outlet) contribution, and now, they will be taking the money for long-term care, too. He pointed out that money is also being spent on purchases. He urged people to vote AGAINST privileges in the referendum.
Meanwhile, the new book by the host of the show Who Is Lying to You (Kdo vam laže), Boris Tomasič, in which he exposes, among other things, the media and political manipulation in Slovenia in his clear and uncompromising style, seems to have been well received by the people, as several protesters asked him to sign their copies.
A. H.
