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Spanish pensioners want Christmas bonus
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Spanish pensioners who formerly worked in Gibraltar, and who have recently been subjected to a pensions deal according to the Cordoba agreement, are now asking that a Christmas bonus be paid to them.
The Spanish pensioners association, through their chairman Manuel Bado, have written to the UK asking for such a payment to be made.
Their argument is that there must not be any discrimination against the Spanish pensioners.
It is pointed out that UK pensioners receive a Christmas bonus of some ?100, so the association has asked for a similar payment to be made to the Spanish pensioners, says a Spanish press report.
"We have the same right as the English pensioners," the association said.
Sr Bado said that they are not prepared to accept that the UK pensioners should receive such a payment, but not the Spanish pensioners. "It is our duty to ask for it," he added. If such a payment is not forthcoming, the association says it is ready to take action.
They await a response from the UK government.
CONTRAST
This action of claiming what they think is theirs, contrasts sharply with the attitude of the Gibraltar Pensioners Association.
It was said by the GSLP/Lib-erals during the recent election that the Gibraltar pensioners were being discriminated against, as the Spaniards have received their social security pensions back-payments, but Gibraltar pensioners have not.
It was also said by the now Opposition that Gibraltar pensioners could expect to receive up to around ?30,000, depending on their contribution records.
It could be that there are those Gibraltar pensioners, such as those who had been on Government and other official employment, who receive high pensions payments, as is well know. But there are others who do not.
The GSD, during the election, took a different view.
This is a case of some Gibraltar pensioners willing to reject possible substantial back-payments of pensions, and yet the Spanish pensioners association, who have recently been receiving their uprated pensions and back-money, to claim a Christmas bonus as well.
The UK estimates that the cost of the Cordoba pensions deal for the ex-Spanish workers should be in the region of ?100 million, although a definitive figure cannot be arrived at as it depends on the lifespan of pensioners.
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