On Thursday, some 70 people gathered outside the Finance Ministry to protest a new rule that requires older individuals aged 60 and up to prove they are destitute in order to be eligible for monthly allowances.
Protesters claimed to be from the Welfare State Network, the We Fair Group, and the Four Regions Slum Network, among others.
They sent an open letter to the Finance Ministry’s permanent secretary before moving on to the Interior Ministry to hold a similar protest.
The new legislation states that only elderly adults with no or insufficient income to pay their living expenses are eligible for the monthly state stipend.
Anupong Paochinda, the temporary interior minister, signed the document, which became effective the following day after publication in the Royal Gazette last Friday.
However, the new pension law does not apply to senior people who applied for allowances with local administrative organizations before August 12, thus individuals who are presently receiving the monthly award are unaffected.
The demonstrators accused the Interior Ministry in their statement of abusing the caretaker government’s remaining time in office to amend the allowance rule.
They highlighted that the pension program had proceeded satisfactorily, with eligibility being expanded more than a decade ago to include everyone over the age of 60.
The statement further stated that General Prayut Chan-o-cha’s caretaker government “does not believe in universal welfare.” It urged the Interior Ministry to withdraw the new regulation and reinstate the old rule governing monthly allowances. In addition, it requested that the National Elderly Committee protect the rights of all elderly people in this regard.
The open letter requested that the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security draft new laws to convert monthly allowances into pensions for all older people.
It also urged the Finance Ministry to reduce “unnecessary expenditures” and seek new sources of public revenue, such as a wealth tax on the wealthy and a windfall tax on enterprises.
In their declaration, the demonstrators also requested that the country’s new government revise the Constitution to include the principle of universal welfare.
