The PSIB has demanded that the processing of the popular legislative initiative (ILP) be accelerated, which proposes an autonomous supplement for pensions that do not reach the SMI. In response to this request, the Govern has answered by criticizing the Socialists for not promoting a similar measure in the autonomous communities where they hold positions of government responsibility.
The exchange of accusations took place during the plenary session of the Parlament this Tuesday, in an interpellation by Socialist MP Amanda Fernández to the Minister of Economy, Finance and Innovation, Antoni Costa.
Fernández urged Costa to bring, to the next legislative plenary session, scheduled for within two weeks, the ILP promoted by the pensioners’ platform of Baleares, which includes this autonomous supplement for the lowest pensions.
The minister, without giving a direct response on the processing schedule, has joked about the PSIB’s “sudden interest” in this matter. “I took the liberty of checking what the PSOE does where it governs, to see whether it applies autonomous supplements to pensions. In Catalunya, Asturias and Castilla-La Mancha. And in Baleares they only want to do it from the opposition. If they governed, the empirical evidence tells us they wouldn’t,” he stated.
The Socialist MP has argued that this additional benefit is essential because the archipelago records some of the highest prices in the country, and she has called attention to her party’s record in defending pensions in the face of the PP’s model.
In her speech, Fernández questioned Costa about the absence of this autonomous supplement in the spending ceiling set for 2027. The minister, again without specifically referring to the inclusion of the measure within that budgetary framework, has highlighted the increase in resources earmarked for education, health, housing and transport.