Members of the SIPTU Retired Members’ Section have began work on their new Secure Retirement Campaign. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the issues retired people have to face on a day to day basis as well as highlighting the vital role they play in both the community and the local economy. SIPTU’s Retired Members’ Section is determined to improve later life by addressing a wide variety of issues that matter to retired and older people – such as the lack of high-quality, accessible, integrated health and social care, poverty and low income, insecurity in the home and community as well as discrimination in all its forms. There will be two strands to the campaigning activity of the group – direct calls for changes in legislation, policy and practice; and social justice advocacy based on SIPTU’s core values of dignity, respect, equality and solidarity. During a planning meeting in Liberty Hall in late February, members were interviewed on camera for a video that will be released online later in the year. Tommy Nolan, from Dublin, spoke of his years in the entertainment business and how he was tasked with working on the lighting during The Beatles 1963 performance in the Adephi Cinema, Dublin. Christine O’Flynn, from Cork, told an inspirational story of how as a casual worker, she organised the cleaners in UCC by picketing the college and garnering the support of the security workers on the campus. The Retired Members' Section achieved formal status in 2003 when SIPTU's National Delegate Conference adopted new rules outlining its status and clarifying the definition of a “retired member.” It was created as a space to provide support and information for retired members of the union to enable them to continue to participate in the growth and development of the union. If you would like to get involved with the Retired Members’ Section, you can contact the Retired Members’ office on Tuesdays at (01) 858 8261 or retired@siptu.ie.
Work begins on Secure Retirement Campaign
