A number of pensioners’ organisations are calling upon the authorities to initiate talks and to desist from further “drastic” cuts to public service pensions which they claimed to be unconstitutional.

Louis Cilia and Joseph M. Azzopardi filed a judicial protest personally and on behalf of Għaqda Nazzjonali tal-Pensjonanti and Alleanza ta’ Organizzazzjonijiet ta’ Pensjonanti representing hundreds of former public service employees.

They are claiming that the amendments throughout the years to the Social Security Act and their implementation, have resulted in “drastic deductions” to their pensions, owing to an abatement equivalent to their service pension.

Such deductions meant that pensioners were not receiving the full amount of benefits and pensions that they were entitled to.

The lawyers explained that unlike other legal challenges to such deductions, based upon fundamental human rights provisions in the Constitution and the European Convention on Human Rights, this judicial protest is based upon section 113 of the Constitution which focuses upon the protection of pension rights of public servants.

They said in their protest that the mechanisms whereby such deductions are being applied, run counter to the protection granted to such pensioners under this specific article and could not be justified by any legal waiver.

The protest was filed against the Social Security Director-General, the Family Minister and the State Advocate. They were urged to initiate consultation on the matter and to desist from further pension deductions.

Lawyers David Camilleri and Joseph Gatt signed the judicial protest.