The former workers demonstrated peacefully at the facilities of the Judicial Branch of the Federation
Gathered for a common cause, active and retired personnel from the Institute of Social Security and Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), as well as members of the Yucatán teachers union, held a peaceful protest at the facilities of the Federal Judicial Branch to demand a decent pension after finishing their working life.
One of the protesters, the teacher Víctor Manuel Enríquez Cabrera commented that 5,000 people in the State are fighting for the federal authorities to pay pensions based on minimum wages and not with the Measurement and Update Unit (UMA), after a ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN) on February 17.
Lorena Rosel, another of the protesters, explained that, although the sentence was applied on the aforementioned date, the payment of pensions has been made based on the UMAS for years, a situation that the retirees had not realized because the UMA and the minimum wage was even, so the difference between the two was small.
“But when the minimum wage took off, we noticed that both the increases for active personnel are not respecting the minimum wage. And the retirements that have been made in previous years have also been following the UMA scheme, although apparently the ruling had not been given yet, which forced many affected teachers to file appeals, ”she said.
She indicated that the ruling of the SCJN was a way of making it official that the pensions will be paid based on the UMAS, but stressed that the impact dates from 2017, which has caused that today some 5,000 thousand federal Yucatecan workers are harmed, which has generated discomfort, because they are not perceiving their due.
The interview explained that currently the minimum wage is at 141.70 pesos and the UMA continues at 89.62 pesos. “Making a daily difference in each salary gives 52.8 pesos, which means a dispossession of 4 million pesos from retirees and pensioners in these conditions,” said the affected, who also added that nationwide, there are 5 million affected workers.
Enríquez Cabrera pointed out that many workers have not assessed the problem, but pointed out that they will begin to notice it. “The SCJN said that everyone will be affected. For example, if the person who retired did so with a salary of 4,000 pesos, in reality, he will do so with 2,700 because it will no longer be based on the minimum wage, but will be based on the UMA”.
The interviewees agreed that it will no longer be possible to proceed legally before the Supreme Court’s ruling, so they have started a dialogue with the president of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, from whom they requested a constitutional reform that makes it clear that the payment of pensions and retirements must be made based on the minimum wage.
The teacher said that the protest was carried out simultaneously at the national level and, resuming the above, pointed out that the petition to López Obrador is the only way to have a decent pension, since consulted lawyers commented that they could proceed legally in the international arena , litigation that could take up to 20 years.
She added that the problem is not with the State Government, and the only federal representation they will go to is Joaquín Díaz Mena, state coordinator of the Development Programs of the State of Yucatán.
“Soon we will go to visit him to find out what position he is going to take because in here in our state he is the representative of the President of the Republic,” she concluded.
