Ms Sue Shaw:

I am the CEO of the ISCP. We welcome and thank the Oireachtas committee for the opportunity to engage and outline our views on the proposed Bill in respect of pension entitlements of retired workers. I will be joined by my colleagues to address key elements of the proposed Bill.

The parliament has the issue of equality and rights for older people at its core. We work to ensure the implementation of policy commitments pertinent to ageing and older people. A fundamental element of this work relates to securing the rights of retired workers relating to pension provision. This refers to the security of the State pension as an adequate, secure income and access to rights relating to the occupational pension of retired workers. It is the latter we are here to speak to the committee about.

We believe strongly in the rights of retired workers to continue to contribute to society in all areas, but in particular policy development. In the past few years, we have drawn together many retired workers and staff associations with a similar experience and concerns relating directly to their pension provision and the lack of the access to address these concerns. The network, under the auspice of the ISCP, represents up to 500,000 retired workers.

“Nothing about us without us” is the catch cry of many social movements and so it is with the retired workers representatives addressing the committee. They are speaking both as constituents and retired workers. They appreciate the time afforded by the committee to listen to their lived experience and why this Bill is crucial in supporting the rights of retired workers to be represented and to defend their pension in payment benefits after they have retired.

The Bill, when passed into law - I am being optimistic - will give a voice to retired workers over what happens to their occupational pension schemes. At present, thousands of retired workers who have worked for decades in the private, public and Civil Service sectors find that once they have left their job, any changes that impact their provision can happen with little notice or negotiation with them. The Bill gives retired workers and their representative associations the right to go to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, when the pension in payment is affected or there are proposed changes that could benefit. At present, if these changes happen more than six months after a worker has retired, they have no rights to access the WRC. The Bill will give rights to retired workers to be party to discussions and negotiations when talks between trade unions and employers may have direct effects on pension in payment benefits. At present, retired workers are excluded in industrial relations disputes that may impact their pensions. Retired workers often struggle to have their voice heard on their scheme’s trustee board. At present, no positions are currently reserved for retired members and, therefore, the Bill will copper-fasten a position for retired workers. Retired workers and their associations cannot access the WRC at the moment because of the definition, among others, of a "trade dispute" in legislation. This means even when substantial cuts or changes have happened to their pension in payment benefit, retired workers have no effective forum.

The Bill will change all of the above, allowing a fairer representation of retired workers. This is all the Bill seeks.