A pension of less than 1,080 Euros. That is the figure which the Pentsionistak Martxan (Pensioners on the March) platform has set forward as the lowest dignified pension, and on 17th March tens of thousands of people demonstrated in the main Basque cities in support. The people furthest from that objective in the Basque Autonomous Community (Araba, Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa) are women.
Three times more women than men receive the minimum pension and in the other Basque territory subject to the Spanish State, Navarre, more than twice as many women as men receive it. According to research carried out by UGT trades union, women get paid 44.84% less in pensions.
Many retired people have to ask for public assistance to supplement their limited pensions. To be eligible for that assistance, they have to be retired and over 65; eight out of ten of them are women. There are 8,208 women in the Basque Autonomous Community who are obliged to request that assistance in order to have the minimum income they need in order to survive.
The Feminist Movement's Interpretation
The Basque feminist movement, which held its strike on March 8th, also supported the demonstration for dignified pensions on March 17th.
They explained women pensioners' current situation: "Those who have their own pensions receive very little and it is not even enough for them to cover their basic needs. Many others do not even have the right to have their own pensions in spite of having worked all their lives; they have worked, amongst other things, in the black economy, in domestic service, etc. And we must not forget the widows who get laughable amounts, and who find it impossible to get to the end of the month".
This article was translated by 11itzulpen; you can see the original in Basque here.