An Post pensioners slate ‘scandalous’ delay in 2% increase

About 50 pensioners who had worked for An Post for decades held a protest outside the Department of Communications, criticising a “scandalous” delay in the sign-off of an agreed pension increase.

As part of a recent pay deal, An Post agreed to a 2 per cent increase in payments to current pensioners at the start of this year. Approval of the increase is under consideration by Minister for Communications Eamon Ryan.

Some 50 former An Post staff held a protest outside department offices in Dublin city over the delay on Wednesday, organised by the Independent Workers Union.

Tommy Kelly (78), who retired in 2009 after 40 years at An Post, said Green Party leader Mr Ryan had been “sitting” on the matter for months and holding up the increase due to pensioners.

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“It would answer them better, the Green Party, to look after the elderly than to be looking after generations that haven’t even been born yet,” he said.

The pension increase was “not an awful lot” and had largely been eroded in the meantime by rising inflation, he said. The delay in approving the agreed increase was “scandalous,” he said.

Eugene Keenan (78), who worked for An Post for 40 years and retired in 2003, said Mr Ryan and senior officials had to “step up to the plate” on the matter.

“We are a very, very patient group, we’ve waited for seven months, we’re not prepared to wait anymore. The cost of living is rampant at the moment, two per cent last January would have bought me a lot more than two per cent now,” he said.

Mr Keenan said the coming winter would be a difficult one for pensioners. “I don’t know how people are going to survive,” he said. “It’s only small money, but it’s better in my pocket than in An Post’s pocket,” he added.

Patrick Pigott (71), who retired in 2016 after 44 years, said the delay was a “disgrace” at a time when people were struggling.

“We were only awarded 2 per cent and they won’t pay it. I just feel aggrieved having given all that service all these years, I mean what was it for,” he said.

Ministerial approval

People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy said it was inexplicable the modest increase had not been signed off on during a cost of living crisis. “Here you have a group of people on fixed incomes who are being denied even a 2 per cent increase by the Government, and I think the Government should quickly move to resolve it,” he said.

A spokeswoman for An Post said it had sought ministerial approval for the pension increases earlier this year and “have been awaiting signoff from them”. Approval was required from Mr Ryan and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath, she said.

Seán McDonagh, head of the An Post group of unions, wrote to Mr McGrath in July, criticising the delay. Mr McDonagh said the lack of progress was causing “unnecessary financial hardship” to about 7,000 pensioners.

In a July 22nd response, Mr McGrath said a request to sanction the pension increase had not been received by the Department of Communications at that stage.

A department spokesman said officials had received the request to approve the pension increase from An Post on May 4th.

Officials had sought the view of NewEra, an agency which provides financial advice to departments, which would inform the business case put to the Department of Public Expenditure, he said.

“Officials in the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications are working with colleagues in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to address any outstanding claims for increases and will conclude this work as quickly as possible,” he said.