PT leader says pension reform is a "bomb" against workers.

Pernambuco 247 - The pension reform being prepared by interim president Michel Temer (PMDB) will be a "bombshell" for workers. This is the assessment of the PT leader in the Senate, Humberto Costa (PE). According to the senator, the project harms those already in the workforce and is likely to exacerbate distortions within the pension system.

"What the government is selling as a solution to public finances is, in fact, a penalty for workers. It talks about considerably increasing the minimum retirement age and establishing a rule that should be the same for those who started working at 18 and those who began their professional lives at 30. This only favors distortions," denounced Humberto Costa.

The pension reform package is expected to drastically change retirement plans for about 80% of active workers. For the remaining 20%, there should also be changes, but less drastic. Temer's proposal also includes unifying the retirement age for men and women.

"This is yet another mark of a misogynistic government, made up only of white, wealthy men. In the job market, women earn less for doing the same job, not to mention the often double or triple shifts faced by mothers. It's not a matter of privilege. It's a matter of social justice," she stated.

The senator also criticized the interim government's proposal to reform the pension system without going through the National Congress. "It's an abuse of power; a topic like this needs to be debated in Congress, with the entities that represent the workers. But since Temer knows that the reform he wants would generate a strong reaction, he wants to try to do everything secretly. It's becoming increasingly clear that the coup to remove a fair and legitimately elected president is not only against Dilma, but against the workers," he concluded.

*With information from the Press Office