WASPI’s Fight for Justice: Parliament Set to Debate Compensation Plan: This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Notice and Terms of Service apply. The Women Against State Pension Inequality campaign is fighting for compensation for 1950-born women who were affected by changes to the state pension age.
WASPI’s Fight for Justice
Today, there`s been a significant development in the WASPI Campaign, This is one we did not welcome and didn’t imagine we`d need. We should not be pin the osition we are in. We have sent a letter before action to the secretary of state for work and pensioners asking her to reconsider the Department`s decision not to pay compensation as suggested by the parliamentary and health Service Ombudsman.
The women said As with all the legal activity we have undertaken so far, it is up to our members and supporters whether we continue. If you fund this legal action, we take that as your permission to carry on for us. But if there is no t, then that sends a clear message to us, and we will not proceed ahead.
We are going to stand by and allow any Government to ignore the findings of its watchdog after a 6-year investigation which took evidence from both sides and looked at it from a completely natural viewpoint.
How did the WASPI campaign come about?
In 1995, the UK government announced plans to gradually raise the state pension age for women from 60+65, aligning it with men. The changes were intended to take place between 2010 and 2020. At the heart of the WASPI campaign is not an opposition to equalising the state pension age with men, but the way these changes have been implemented.
They asked if there are no logical reasons for the Government`s refusal to pay compensation for what the Ombudsman and the Government agree was maladministration by the DWP. Then why should they be allowed to get away with doing so? Will we tolerate this? They Asked.
Our Fight is not only for WASPI; it seems that it is for all women, and it is for integrity, fairness and justice. We have come so far together, and we can continue this fight together. We are not giving up, and we are not going away! However, we can’t do it without your support. Will you join us?
Waspi Women threaten legal action Over Pensions row
The Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) Group id demanding payouts for 3.6 million women born in the 1950s who were not properly informed of changes first introduced in the 1990s.
The Government apologised that the changes were not communicated quickly enough but told BBC it ” can not justify paying for a £10.5bn compensation scheme at the expense of the taxpayer.”
The WASPI Women the letter action that has been sent to the government is a formal mechanism to allow it a chance to respond before the campaigners seek a judicial review at the High court in two Weeks time.
Last year, the parliamentary ombudsman recommended payouts of up to £2,95 each because of a 28-month delay in writing to inform the women affected of the changes.
Government response and the compensation row
In March, the parliamentary and health service ombudsman concluded that while the government’s poor communication warranted some compensation, it did not recommend payouts for lost pensions as this was beyond its remit. However, the government recently rejected these recommendations, citing the £10.5 billion cost of compensation as unfair to taxpayers. Work and pensions Secretary Liz Kendall defended the decision and stated that most women were aware of the changes.
What is next for WASPI?
The WASPI campaign continues to fight for recognition and redress, meanwhile, similar schemes are under review in Wales and Northern Ireland, and Scotland`s 2019 legislation already provides patients the right to request a second opinion.
The controversy highlights broader questions of how government communicate major policy changes and the consequences when it fails to do so effectively.
Conclusion
In this article, we discussed WASPI’s Fight for Justice: Parliament Set to Debate Compensation Plan, the debate over compensation for the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) campaign, which took another turn this week as campaigners threatened legal action against the government. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA, and the Google Privacy Notice and Terms of Service apply.