In France, International Women’s Day coincides this year with a call to strike against the pension reform currently being studied in the Senate. Among the many demands of this March 8, equal pay and the abandonment of the reform. At the forefront and especially among the most visible in this dispute, the “Rosies”. This group of protesters manifest their anger in a festive way in an outfit reminiscent of that of Rosie the RiveterAmerican icon of feminism.
Women in overalls, wearing a red headscarf with white polka dots sing and choreograph their demands during a feminist demonstration. In the front row, Karen and Martine, Rosies of the first hour and standing against the pension reform.
“ It is a reform – above all – super sexist. The government tried to make us believe that it was a good reform for women, when it is quite the opposite.. Karen therefore calls for the complete cancellation of the reform. ” In fact, what needs to be reformed is where we get the money. “Martine agrees:” Not to mention that if women had equality in work, in terms of salaries, etc., these are contributions that come in. » « Five billion more if women were paid the same as men. Five billion more for pensions “, insists Karen.
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heavy worries
In addition, wage inequalities affect the pension. ” Women today are paid 23% less than men on average. When we talk about retirement pensions, it’s 40% less. Isn’t that unfair? “laments Karen.
Claire Bussoille, mother of four children and “Rosie” recently, is worried to see the horizon of retirement receding. ” In my opinion, we won’t have many years of retirement. Me, I started very late, I had four children. So many hatches in my career… We are told to have children, to study… We do it and that’s it: we take the reform in the face. »
” This is not a social progress project »
Busy week for the Rosies, between demonstrations and preparations. Finalizing the signs and learning the new choreography. The Rosies were born at the time of the fight against Emmanuel Macron’s first pension reform project.
Youlie Yamamoto, co-founder of the movement, is not more convinced by the new version, so she has put on her overalls.
” This pension reform is not a social progress project. It does not aim to correct inequalities”, deplores Youlie Yamamoto. “Finally, the pension reform does not provide any mechanism to compensate for the small pensions of women when they have chopped careers, part-time… So, they have very small pensions “, she explains. “ And above all, it does not affect the age of cancellation of the haircut. The pension reform will also, by pushing back the retirement age, make women who have children work for two years longer for free since they will lose the benefit of quarters per child adds Youlie Yamamoto.
A woman who, thanks to these trimesters, could have left at 62 will now have to wait until she is 64. To improve women’s pensions, Youlie Yamamoto pleads for equal pay, but not only. ” It is to allow them to work, for example, by having an improvement in childcare facilities “, she says.
The government argues that women’s pension should increase slightly more than men’s: 2.2% against 0.9%.