BIELLA, Italy—Tension is growing for thousands of Italian seniors who may have to face months, or even years, without a source of income after the retirement age was raised under new pension reforms.
The pensioners, labeled “esodati,” roughly translated as exodus or sent out, had previously agreed to take early retirement packages in exchange for lump sum payouts or continued salaries until their retirement date. For the banks and firms who offered the deals, a smaller workforce saved them taxes, even if it meant paying an elderly employee to stay home.
Now that the retirement age has been unexpectedly raised, that agreement has left the esodati with the prospect of a long period without pay or pension.
The esodati, with their expectations of more gentile days ahead shattered, are not waiting to be consulted about their futures. They have become determined demonstrators, ready to appear wherever possible with placards and banners.
“I personally got involved from the beginning—it is unacceptable,” says Mara Polato, 56, a resident of Brescia, not far from Milan.
Polato signed an agreement with her employer, the Italian Post Office, in March 2011.
She agreed to retire a year early during which time she'd receive her normal salary and the post office would even continue to make pension contributions. Now she has to wait a year and a half longer, with no pension and no salary.
“I have worked since I was 16 years old,” she says. “Working for me is a dignity.”
Polato said if she had known they were considering increasing the retirement age, she would have continued to work for another year and a half.
“I feel really aggrieved,” she said, “I had a steady job and nobody would have sent me away.”
Pension reform was the first emergency measure of the Save Italy decree instituted by Mario Monti and his caretaker government of technocrats who took over the country in November 2011 when scandal-ridden Silvio Berlusconi resigned.
Under the Monti government scheme, the retirement age for men went from 65 to 66, and for women from 60 to 62, with the latter expected to eventually rise to match the men.
The government has sought measures to help around 65,000 esodati, saying in a statement that it was “committed to find fair and financially sustainable solutions for these workers.” But it acknowledged that the measures were not comprehensive and offered little comfort for many others affected by the pension reforms.
While solving the gap requires huge amounts of capital, which is in short supply, the unions and labor organizations are fighting back.
“The government must find money to provide a solution for all,” Susanna Camusso, general secretary of the General Confederation of Italian Workers (CGIL), one of Italy’s largest unions, said in a statement.
“The decree as it is now is not fair. It creates disparities. They cannot keep avoiding the issue,” said Camusso.
The situation became even tenser after Italian news agency ANSA exposed a report leaked from the National Institute of Social Security (INPS), which estimates that some 390,000 Italians took the early retirement option under the previous law.
This unexpected turn of events has prompted protests and requests for clarification by politicians and trade unionists. Labor Minister Elsa Fornero, who has taken much of the heat over the reforms, is expected to give some explanation in Parliament Tuesday, June 19.
Meanwhile, the seniors have taken to the Internet to further their campaign.
“We started a blog, we are finding out about each other,” said Mara Polato.
There are 6,020 people who made similar arrangements with the Italian Post Office in 2011, she said, and many others in different companies.
“I talk to any politician whenever I have the chance. I won’t give up.”
She hopes a solution will be found soon.
“I hope if they made a mistake, they will admit it,” she said adding, “but they also have to address it.”
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