Governor has yet to answer pension-related request

By The Star Staff

The Alliance of Active and Retired Employees of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA), representing over 15,000 retirees, active employees and mobilized workers, confirmed Wednesday that Gov. Jenniffer González Colón has not responded to communications sent to La Fortaleza related to funding for pensions.

The uncertainty felt by thousands of retirees, active employees and mobilized PREPA workers is being addressed through proposals from the PREPA Employee Retirement System board of trustees. The proposals aim not only to ensure the permanence of current and future pensions, but also to prevent an increase in electricity rates.

Johnny Rodríguez Ortiz, spokesperson for the Alliance and president of the Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority Retirees Association, expressed significant concern about “the lack of responses to our two letters sent to the governor.” He pointed out that the governor did not meet with retirees when they visited La Fortaleza on Wednesday, March 26.

“The uncertainty our retired colleagues, as well as our active and mobilized colleagues, experience daily has a solution,” Rodríguez Ortiz stressed. “It is not fair for us to live with the insecurity around having adequate funds to pay our pensions.”

Ángel Figueroa Jaramillo, interim president of the Electrical Industry and Irrigation Workers Union, added that “in addition to having a concrete and viable proposal that would guarantee both current and future pensions, fulfilling the governor’s campaign promise to cancel the LUMA contract would unlock the financial resources necessary to meet all of PREPA’s obligations, including pension payments, without increasing costs for the people of Puerto Rico.”

“We recognize the governor’s busy schedule, but we believe it is desirable for her to take the time to address an issue that is part of her government program, and we remain confident that we can work together,” Figueroa Jaramillo said.