Pensioners take to the streets :: Charter'97 :: News

A group of pensioners is set to inform the population about their social position. One of the forms of informing is pickets. On July 7 a public activist Tastyana Zyalko filed an application for holding pickets on discussing pensioners’ social position July 25 and 26.

“Against the background of repeal of social benefits, state propaganda persuades population about trouble-free existence of pensioners. However it’s far from this. Pensioners’ living standards today can be called catastrophic. After repeal of benefits many will become not even poor, but impoverished. When the draft law on repeal of benefits was considered, hundreds of pensioners from all part of the country called me. They were indignant. Many of them wanted to hear comprehensible explanations from officials and deputies about the law adopted by them. In case of a positive decision of Minsk city executive committee, we shall certainly invite workers of Labour and Social Defense Ministry to our rallies, so that they could elucidate issues of the social standing of pensioners,” Tatsyana Zyalko said.

Undoubtedly, repeal of benefits to certain groups of population is not the only reason for holding pickets. A complex and unfair legislation on pension benefits worries pensioners as well. “I would like to state that this initiative does not belong to any public association or a political party. In case sanction would be granted, these pickets will be organized and held by pensioners who care about their situation. We shall act in the framework of the existing law only,” the woman said.