The 1st of October Institute (Inštitut 1. oktober) has sent out a press release announcing the 8th nationwide pensioners’ protest. It will take place on Wednesday, the 18th of October, 2023. This time, the rally will take place in a slightly different way. After the rally, a camp will be set up in Ljubljana, where 25 people will stay overnight in the centre of our capital.
“The official start of the protest is at 3 p.m. Everyone who has been to at least one of the rallies should come and bring one or more people with you!!!” the press release said.
We are publishing their statement in its entirety below.
“At the rally, we will loudly, boomingly, and with all the drums, rattles, pot lids, whistles that we will bring with us, and with all our voices – with everything that we can muster, demand a 5.1 percent pension adjustment for 2023 and an extraordinary 100- to 500-euro supplement to pensions due to the cost of living! Let 10,000 Slovenian flags fly!!! During the official part of the rally, we will read to you a criminal indictment against the Prime Minister for total neglect of the office of Acting Minister of Health and the work of the Prime Minister (imprisonment of up to three years).
Since the start of his term in office and to date, waiting times in healthcare have increased even further, with an additional 8,000 patients waiting longer than the reasonable limit (79,000 patients in total)! The reform has so far raised tens of millions of euros, and no one has seen any of the money yet! They are causing deliberate damage to pensioners’ pensions! Employment is at a record high, which means that the pension coffers managed by Marjan Papež have by far the most money in the history of the country! But where is this money?
We will also set up a pensioners’ party, informally! The promise that all of you present will vote on this must be kept. Come to Republic Square and be part of history.
You will record the vote; you will record your decision!!! After the rally, at around 4:20 p.m., we will walk through the streets of Ljubljana to the seat of the Government of the Republic of Slovenia and back to Republic Square, at the suggestion of the groups from Štajerska! We will set up camp somewhere between the two. You should bring tents, sleeping bags and everything else you need with you.
There will be a maximum of 25 people camping out. As we have to take care of the health of the protesters, we will change every two nights!
May the rally be dignified; the power of the crowd is greater than the power of freedom!
We have already succeeded in pressuring the government, they are afraid of us!!!
We will fight for people with the lowest pensions – the ones living below the poverty line. We will fight for pensions that allow for a decent living.”
Ž. K.
