CESI’s Spanish member CSI-F and the European Women’s Lobby take joint action to fight the gender pensions gap in Spain

More concretely, at a joint press conference in Madrid, they presented a campaign with the objective to reform the Spanish maternity supplement in pensions for mothers with two or more children, a measure introduced on January 1 2016 by the government.

Based on data of the Spanish National Statistical Institute (INE), CSI-F estimates that the law discriminates against around 2 million women that only have one child. Ángeles Mur Nuño, Secretary for Equality and Social Responsibility at CSI-F, said that this perpetuates the traditional role of mothers and women caregivers. She added that the government scheme moreover discriminates against women who retire early and against those who retired before January 1 2016, when the measure entered into force.

According to CSI-F, the Spanish government needs to revise the law so thatCGFP all mothers regardless of the number of their children and their date of retirement benefit from a maternity supplement in pensions. They underlined that it is equally vital to take additional measures to encourage a more equal sharing of domestic and care responsibilities between fathers and mothers (who tend to take on a disproportionate share), which includes, for instance, a progressive matching of paternity and maternity leave provisions. Carmen Jaffke, who is an affiliate of CESI’s member trade union organisation CGFP from Luxembourg and has been a long-standing member of the Board of the EWL, said that this is clearly in line with the EWL’s priorities to end gender pension gaps in Europe. She assured full support for CSI-F’s efforts in Spain.

CSI-F will continue to promote a reform of the maternity supplement in pensions in the Spanish lower house parliament, the Congress of Deputies. More information the campaign can be accessed on the website of CSI-F, along with a promotional video on the fight against gender pension gaps by the EWL. A video with excerpts of the press conference is available here.

CSI-F, a long-standing member of CESI, is the most representative Spanish trade union organisation in public administrations and has a growing presence in the private sector. CESI has been a member of the EWL since 2006.