Picnic protest to support the National Pensions Bill
Before a march from the United Nations building to Government House on 13 July to demand that the Prime Minister endorse the National Pensions Bill, the Welfare Watch Network hosted a picnic, with representatives from parliament and a Deputy Prime Minister joining in.
At around 9:00, over 200 people gathered in front of the United Nations building before a march to Government House. Everyone was handed a shirt that read “Change allowances to pensions for all” and a mask that said “Pensions for all, now.”
Demonstrators brought their own pinto (stacked food containers) with rice, chili paste, fried pork and oranges. The prepared pinto consisted of three layers, each layer symbolizing different things — the lowest layer symbolizing a 3,000 baht basic monthly allowance for the old, the middle layer symbolizing pensions for all and the top layer symbolizing personal savings. Demonstrators said everyone over 60 must have the basic assurance of a 3,000 baht monthly pension.
Their picnic in front of the United Nations building included speeches from network representatives and performances from civil society organizations including a Thai musical band, Commoner Thailand, and dancers from Swing Thailand.
Prachatai
