Campaign against crisis: defend retired persons rights

1
Retired Persons Trade Union of Croatia - SUH

• Campaign against crisis defend retired persons
  rights

2
Crisis chooses the weakest

• Out of 1,070,000 retired persons with regular,
  not privileged, pensions
• 174,000 have pensions less than 1.000 kn (135
  EUR)
• 52 have pensions less than 2.000 kn (270 EUR)
• More than 80 have pensions less than 3.000 kn
  (405 EUR)!

3
Europe, Croatian style

• It is clearly defined in EU that those with
  pensions less than 60 of average wage, are
  considered to be poor. The poverty line in
  Croatia is 3,120 kn (420 EUR).
• Average pension in Croatia is 2,125 kn (290 EUR),
  which is only 40.8 of the average wage.
  Therefore almost everyone is poor.

4
Crisis determines the future

• The main problem of the current crisis is the
  repetition of the negative scenario from the
  beginning of 1990s when practically a hundred
  thousand people were retired forcedly.
• Even now the number of dismissed workers who will
  be early retired is growing. Furthermore, due to
  changes in health legislation, it can be expected
  that all workers who are on sick leaves longer
  than 6 months will be forcedly retired.

5
Black days for Croatian workers

• Due to the increasing number of dismissed workers
  who end up unemployed, pension funds are also
  being reduced, because contributions are not paid
  for the majority of the unemployed.
• Retired persons to active workers ratio is
  becoming worse now one retired person is burden
  for 1.4 workers, and if negative estimations of
  employers of 50,000 dismissals - become true,
  this ratio will become lower.

6
Our message before elections

• All this leads towards a new attack on workers
  and retired persons and their rights. What can be
  expected the increase of retirement age /in an
  increasing number of countries in Europe the
  retirement age is 67 years for both genders/
  some even threat with freezing of pensions and
  even delays in payment of pensions.
• Whatever the power-holders try to realize without
  serious analysis and social dialogue with all
  trade unions and active and retired workers
  they need to know that retired and elderly
  persons with members of their families -
  represent 30 of their constituency.

7
We start a campaign on 7 May 2009

• Retired Person's Trade Union of Croatia - SUH
  starts a campaign to defend retired person s
  rights, at the same day in all Croatian counties
  it calls upon the citizens to support SUH s
  Fighting List with their signatures.
• This leaflet was printed in 100,000 copies.
• On 7 May 2009 we start with its distribution all
  over Croatia.

8
What are we fighting for?

• Why are we doing this? What are our aims?
• First of all, we want Croatian retired persons to
  know that there are organizations which are not
  just government's spongers and whose main aim is
  not just organizing excursions, but real trade
  union fight for retired persons rights exactly
  what SUH has been doing for the past 17 years.

9
What are we fighting for?

• Secondly, we want Croatian retired persons to
  become familiar with our Fighting list which
  expresses our positions and our aims in 32
  demands.
• Thirdly, we want political parties to recognize
  our demands and incorporate them in their
  programmes.

10
Workers solidarity without borders

• SUH is affiliated to the Union of Autonomous
  Trade Unions of Croatia UATUC, and will
  implement the campaign partly in cooperation with
  this largest trade union confederation in
  Croatia.
• SUH is also affiliated to FERPA/European
  federation
• Of Retired and Elderly Persons/ and thanks to
  their support, and especially the support of
  Italian trade union SPI-CGIL we managed to print
  our leaflet.

11
Trade union of our future

• Yes, we fight to defend the rights of retired
  persons, the majority of which cannot cover their
  cost of living.
• But we also fight for future rights of current
  workers whose future will be even more uncertain
  without our fight.
• Therefore we call upon all to sign for the
  support of SUHs Fighting List!

12
Future has no age!