Motion no: 33
Congress expresses its deep concern at the continued erosion of the standard of living of people on low and medium incomes including pensioners in Northern Ireland and in the Republic; Pensioners require the assistance of the trade unions in their campaigns for security and justice and the trade union movement can only gain from the continued involvement of retired members in their organisations ;In particular; to strengthen the position of older people; this Conference agrees that; Affiliated organisations should continue to strengthen their retired members sections or where these do not exist; to bring them into existence and to report to Congress of its efforts to achieve this objective; To work for the establishment of an adequate standard of living for pensioners to ensure that the present level of pensions in the Republic are at least maintained and that the pension ;in Northern Ireland should be increased above the poverty line which in the UK is presently 00 per week and by continuously working to ensure that the State pension is expressed as a percentage of average industrial earnings and is set at a level to give older people a reasonable income in their retirement years; Conference firmly believes that the most immediate means of lifting older people out of poverty is through a decent state pension; linked to average wages and funded through progressive taxation;The protection of essential supports and services critical to the health status of older people is a priority in both jurisdiction; in particular the eradication of fuel poverty and the provision of high;quality; accessible healthcare targeted to their needs and improved facilities for home care and home nursing care; continuously reviewed to guarantee standards; To this end Congress will resist any attempts to erode or cut home care services;That the income tax system ensures that older people are treated fairly and recent increases caused by the introduction of the Universal Social Charge; the reduction in tax credits and the reduction in Public Service Pensions is reversed; Likewise; the proposed change in calculating UK pension and benefit increases from the Retail Price Index; to the Consumer Price Index ; will further erode the incomes of pensioners and should also be reversed
