Spanish workers in Gibraltar protest against pension conditions
11 June 2008

Written by Sophie Baker

The associations representing Spanish workers in Gibraltar staged a protest on 12 June campaigning for better pensions and social security benefits.

Spanish workers in Gibraltar want the Spanish Government to change the law so that they get a similar pension benefit to what any other Spanish worker gets, when having worked all their life in Spain. They want benefits derived from their Gibraltar employment to be increased to that available in Spain when the benefit is higher in Spain than in Gibraltar. They also want the years worked in Gibraltar to be considered valid to add to the other years they may have worked in Spain.

The protest took place at the ‘Spanish workers in Gibraltar’ statue on La Línea’s border, and was lead by Spanish associations the Associación Sociocultural de Trabajadores Españoles en Gibraltar (Ascteg) and Citipeg, who have been distributing a leaflet in the area asking for support.

The groups believe that 5,000 workers are affected by the situation, and Francisco Ponce, president of Citipeg, said that “it appears that everyone is conscious of the problems we suffer.”

He added: “It is not right that we should be working all our lives and that the pension should be under €250 per month, and that is why we are asking the Spanish government to give us a helping hand.”

The groups were clear that their claim is not against Gibraltar or the Gibraltarians, but instead for the Spanish government to find a solution.

On 5 May 2008, the presidents of both groups met with representatives of the Comisiones Obreras and UGT, who support them in their moves.