It was a real honour to speak out in support of WASPI women campaigning for pension equality this week. On Wednesday – International Women’s Day and Budget Day – thousands lined the streets of Westminster to call for a fair deal for the 2.6 million women affected.
I’m proud that UNISON – the largest membership organisation for women in the UK – is supporting the WASPI campaign, not just because so many of our members are affected, but because they are on the right side of history.
UNISON will stand with them until they get exactly what they are owed and deserve – a fair transitional arrangement.
Some women have already waited years for an answer from the government – some as many as six years. That’s not fair or just, and it’s created real financial hardship, especially for those who’ve waited 14 years from the passage of legislation to being informed about the changes made. That’s 14 wasted years where different retirement plans could have been made.
Thankfully the WASPI campaign has now brought this issue to light and is pushing for a better way forward. Working with them we brought dozens of MPs together to sign our pledge, saying: “I call on the government to implement fair transitional arrangements for WASPI women affected by the state pension age changes.”
Those are 20 words, but they contain within them millions of stories and struggles – and they’ll form the basis of this struggle for fairness.
