Editor’s Note: The following is an interview with Organizational Secretary of the TUI of Pensioners and Retired of the WFTU, Bachir Hakem. It was originally published in Algeria be Le Jeune Indépendent.
On the occasion of International Workers’ Day, celebrated on 1 May, the focus is generally on the demands of employees. Yet another category of citizens, long engaged in the construction of the country, also deserves to be heard: pensioners. In Algeria, more than 3.5 million
In this interview, Bachir Hakem, representative of the Algerian Pensioners’ Union Organization (OSRA), takes stock of the situation of pensioners, discusses their struggles, expresses their hopes and challenges the public authorities to the urgency of concrete measures.
The Young Independent: What is the situation of pensioners in Algeria according to OSRA?
Bachir Hakem: The number of pensioners in Algeria continues to rise. It increased from 2 million in 2010 to more than 3.5 million by the end of 2024, with an annual average of 130,000 new pensioners. This is putting increasing pressure on the National Pension Fund (CNR), whose system is now based on a worrying ratio of 2.2 contributors for a pensioner, well below the equilibrium threshold estimated at five contributors.
Precariousness affects a significant proportion of this population: about 1.5 million pensioners receive a pension of less than 20,000 dinars. While recovery has been applied since May 2022, in accordance with presidential instructions (more than 10% for pensions below 15 000 DA, 5% for pensions between 15 000 and 20,000 AD, 3% between 20,000 and 43,000 DA, and 2% for the higher amounts), but for OSRA these adjustments remain largely insufficient. It denounces a policy of “double standards”, in particular after the increase in salaries in 2024, estimated on average at 53%, while pensions were raised from only 10 to 15%. This growing gap is seen as an attack on the principle of social equity.
On 1 May 2025, OSRA is calling for a re-evaluation of pensions in line with that of salaries. It calls for redressing the inequality generated in 2024 and redressing what it calls an “uneftime of 2022,” when more than 50,000 pensioners had not benefited from any increase.
What are the main challenges facing pensioners today, particularly in terms of purchasing power, health, housing and isolation?
Recognised by the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFF) and the International Union of Pensioners’ and Pensioners’ Unions (IUS of P-R), OSRA remains the only trade union representing pensioners in Algeria, although it is still waiting for its official registration receipt, which is necessary for the legal recognition of its status.
Despite this administrative obstacle, OSRA continues to defend the rights of pensioners and to make several demands to improve their living conditions. These include the freedom of association and the protection of the right to organize, the right of pensioners to form their own trade union, the unification and sustainable financing of pension funds, the recognition of pensioners as passive workers according to the standards of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the restoration of the right to retirement at 60 for men and 55 for women, taking into account the national service, the abolition of the tax on pensions,
Can we talk about an improvement or a deterioration in the living conditions of pensioners in recent years?
Today, more than 2 million pensioners receive less than 30,000 ADs per month. This is equivalent to around EUR 200 at the official rate, and only EUR 150 at the parallel rate, even after the last revaluations. On the other hand, only 1.5 million pensioners exceed this threshold. In these circumstances, any real improvement in living standards remains illusory: the announced increases do not follow either inflation or wage developments.
For five years, OSRA has been continuously alerting to this growing precariousness. What some call revalorizations are, in fact, only meagre increases offered to those who have served the country throughout their lives. Today, many pensioners are forced to return to work, begging, or even seeking subsistence in the garbage. Some people don’t even have a roof over again. We are continuing our fight, in accordance with the rule of law, so that pensioners can finally live with dignity.
What is your opinion on the current amount of pensions? Is it sufficient to guarantee a dignified life for pensioners?
When its case was filed in 2021, OFR had advocated a minimum pension equivalent to the National Guaranteed Minimum Wage (SNMG), i.e. 60,000 AD. However, due to inflation and speculation affecting the country, particularly on basic necessities, this amount is now expected to be well above 60,000 AD to enable pensioners to live in dignity.
Is OSRA demanding an increase in pensions? If so, according to what criteria?
To talk about upgrading, we must first return to its context of creation. OSRA was founded after the country’s strong wage increases, with the aim of enabling pensions to move closer to wages. However, this remains impossible as long as any revalorization does not take into account inflation, purchasing power, wages and their increases.
For this reason, OSRA distinguishes between the upgrading of pensions and their simple increase. To bring justice to pensioners, it is now necessary to upgrade pensions according to real losses of purchasing power in relation to wages and to index pensions to all wage increases. We have been calling for genuine social justice for pensions since 1962. It is time to update pensions by following wage indexation, as is done for other pension funds, in order to avoid any discrimination, which the Constitution condemns.
Was there an open dialogue with the public authorities? Have you been taken into account in their responses?
The public authorities refuse any dialogue with OSRA and take note of our demands only through the press or by mail addressed to the Ombudsman of the Republic and the President of the Republic. This has been the case, for example, to claim our registration receipt. Unfortunately, those letters remained unanswered.
Did the social security and medical cover system meet the needs of pensioners?
Compared to other countries, our pension system remains unsuitable for the specific needs of pensioners. With the means available to Algeria, the current benefits are considered insufficient and discriminatory, in particular because of the inequalities between the various pension funds.
OSRA claims full social security coverage for pensioners: analyses, consultations, radios, medical interventions must be reimbursed 100%, as more than 90% of pensioners suffer from health problems. The union also proposes the establishment of quality nursing homes in each wilaya, accessible to needy pensioners, for 50 per cent of their pension.
On the occasion of 1 May, the OSRA reiterates its main demands: return to the statutory retirement age at a maximum of 60 years, introduction of a minimum pension equivalent to EUR 600, indexing of pensions on current wages, immediate upgrading of 10 to 15%, unification of pension funds and refusal of privatization, wage equality between women and men, full reimbursement of medicines, right of pensioners to form trade unions,
Nevertheless, pensioners remained mobilized, convinced of their social usefulness and determined to make their voices heard.
How does OSRA view the future of pensioners in Algeria in the short and medium term?
OSRA calls on the authorities, trade unions and civil society to listen to the grievances of millions of pensioners, who are often destitute and without representation, as they continue to be able to contribute to society. With nearly 70,000 followers on its Facebook page, OSRA has become a real space for these citizens. We are asking the President of the Republic for a fair increase in pensions and an increase in purchasing power, as in the case of salaries. After four years of unpaid withdrawal, pensioners’ morale is at their lowest, and many feel a deep sense of injustice. OSRA seeks only to act within the legal framework, with a view to restoring the justice and dignity of pensioners.
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