Pension parity demanded for 'very let down' retired Mayo postal workers

Retired Mayo An Post staff feel very let down by their treatment and the lack of parity they have received regarding their pension entitlements, a Mayo Oireachtas member has highlighted.

Senator Mark Duffy elaborated: "This has being going on since An Post became a semi-State body in 1984 when postal workers were promised that they would receive the same benefits and entitlements that anyone else in the civil service or the wider public sector would receive.

"They have served the State in every corner of all of our counties that we all represent and are from. They feel very much aggrieved with the lack of parity regarding their pension entitlements.

"Increases, for example, announced this week are very positive in certain cases, but the contributory pension entitlements do not benefit these affected workers.

"Whether someone is from Brickens, Bohola or Ballina in Mayo, anywhere across the country or Ballybofey, they are worse off if they are a retired An Post worker.

"They do not have the pension entitlements that they should. Those were guaranteed. It was the State that moved these workers over. They did not move or change anything.

"It was the State that vested An Post as a semi-State body. They feel very aggrieved and let down.

"It affects hundreds of retired postal workers who served the State and where there on tough days and stormy days and dealt with rural isolation. The minister knows well the positive impact that postal workers have made down through the years.

"This is a simple request for equal treatment and parity. That is why I have raised the matter a number of times.

"It would be very beneficial if the government could meet the representative body to hear its case and address same. There is also a cap on the increase of 2%.

"There are a lot of limitations of these people and they feel very aggrieved. It is affecting every corner of the country.

"I ask the minister for his support and intervention to look after these people who are retired and deserve parity in their pensions."