UGT, "the PP excuses the deficit to cut back on pensions"

María José Barrena, the UGT Secretary of Social Policy, predicts cutbacks of up to 40 percent on pensions within 20 years if the PP continues with its current policy in that area. She adds that the current deficit is generated artificially to push Spanish pensioners towards the "German model", in which pensioners balance their provision with work.

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UGT asks the Central Government to comply with the fifth revision of the Toledo Pact, whose date was stipulated for 2016. UGT's view is that it is inconceivable for the CPI to grow 3% and even so for pensions alone to increase 0.25%. And it's branded a "trick" that the PP's pension law imposes this minimum rise as long as there is a deficit.

It's a reminder that the PP has moved the pension scheme deficit from Zapatero's 65 million euros to almost 12 billion in only its first year of subsequent government. Adding that Spain is the only European country that pays that pension scheme only with workers' contributions, and not through general budgets or taxes.

"It's seeking the German model, which pushes for a private pension system", notes UGT. A country, they conclude, where "poverty has risen up to 80% among pensioners in the last few years".