A group of retired An Post workers are to hold a National Day of Action in Dublin this week calling for the removal of the “unfair” pension cap, and the restoration of pension payments in line with public sector pay parity.
The action is to take place on Friday at 1:30pm outside the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ headquarters in Parnell Square, Dublin 1. Post Office Pensioners United (POPU) say that the action marks the latest step in POPU’s long-running campaign for justice and fair treatment for retired An Post workers.
An Post Pensioners previously took to the streets in Cork before Christmas, joined by some current employees and general election candidates, with a separate protest in Dublin. The POPU’s leader, Paul Moreland, says that the imposition of a “pension accord” to cap pension increases was brought in to save the pension fund after the financial crash of 2008.
“That emergency is long since over and we want the accord terminated. Emergency restrictions imposed in the public service were removed some years ago. The financial hardship being caused by this injustice cannot continue for our pensioners. Some of these people are in their 70s and 80s so it’s a sad reflection on An Post management and Ministers that they have to take to the streets in protest to highlight how their pensions have been devalued,” Mr Moreland said.
The group of retired An Post workers have said they believe that there is a significant public interest in investigating An Post’s handling of pension increases, its financial position, as well as the role of the government in overseeing its obligations to pensioners. It previously highlighted how, since 2013, pension increases for former An Post employees have been capped at a maximum of 2% – despite soaring inflation and the heightened cost of living.
Workers have highlighted how as former civil servants, they do not qualify for the State pension scheme or extra Government support that some other retirees are entitled to.
In a statement ahead of the protest, the organisation said that thousands of former postal workers are being unfairly penalised by the continued imposition of a cap on their pensions – despite “clear pension rights enshrined in the 1983 Postal & Telecommunications Services Act.”
The Act established Bord Telecom Éireann (now eir) to take over the national telecommunications services from the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, essentially creating a new State-sponsored body to operate telecommunications networks and services in Ireland. Section 46 of the Act states that pension disbursements “shall not be on less favourable conditions than would apply if the benefits referred to had continued to be paid out of monies provided by the Oireachtas.”
However, the group made up of former An Post workers say that despite their pensions being protected under the Act, thousands of former postal workers are being “unfairly penalised” by the continued imposition of a cap on pensions. Representatives from the group have previously pointed out that inflation since 2012 has been 24.4% while An Post pensions have risen by only 15.2%.
“These caps have left many pensioners struggling, while the An Post Pension Fund has a surplus of €600M. The company is now attempting to further reduce its contributions to the Pension Fund, worsening the situation for those who served the public with dedication and integrity,” the group said in a statement. POPU also said that the cap is negatively impacting the pension entitlements of serving staff, including their final lump sum payments, consequently extending “injustice” to future retirees as well.
POPU has hit out at what it says is a “failure” of former unions to engage meaningfully with former workers, along with the “ongoing silence” it says it has experienced from An Post Pension Trustees. It comes as the group hit out at An Post over what it described as an attempt to shirk its legal and moral obligations – while accusing the Government of refusing to enforce the law, therefore allowing a semi-state body to act in breach of national legislation.
“We are calling on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) to stand up for their retired members and intervene immediately to remove the unfair pension cap, and restore pension payments in line with public sector pay parity, as originally legislated,” it said on Tuesday.
“This Day of Action is not just about pensions — it is about respect, legal rights, and the protection of retired workers who built the very foundations of our national postal service.”
Writing in the Connaught Telegraph at the beginning of the year, Paul Moreland, a retired Mayo postal worker and leader of POPU said that the issue deserved “urgent scrutiny” as he asked why An Post was “refusing to apply public service pension policy” when the pension scheme is in surplus – after Kieran Mulvey, new chair of An Post, told the Joint Committee on Transport and Communications back in October last year that the pension scheme had a €600 million surplus.
“What has happened to the €400 million in PRSI savings that An Post accrued at pensioners’ expense?” Moreland asked, adding: “Retired An Post workers, who dedicated our careers to public service, should not be left on or below the poverty line.”