Thousands of An Post workers are set to see their pension jump by 2 per cent this year.
The increase, which was due to come into effect on January 1, had been "disgracefully" delayed following worries about the long-term viability of An Post's pension scheme. However, workers will benefit after Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath approved the payment.
The payment has been backdated to January 2022 following the signoff, the Irish Examiner reports. The news comes after retired An Post staff staged protests for the increase.
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There are currently 17,300 members of the pension scheme in the company. The scheme had a surplus of €500m at the end of 2021 with more than €4bn in assets.
Union staff representative Sean McDonagh said a payment date for the pension has not been confirmed by the department. He said in a letter: "Such a delay would be hard to comprehend at the best of times, but when the scheme is in such robust health and in the context of such high inflation at this time, the unexplained delay is disrespectful and callous."
The union held a protest outside the offices of the Department of Environment, Communications and Climate Change in August against the delay in sanctioning the pension increase during a cost-of-living crisis.
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