A MARCH demanding fair pensions for women born in the 1950s has taken place in Porthmadog.

Around 4,000 women in Dwyfor and Meirionnydd have been affected by the rise in the state pension age, with many given little or no notice and not enough time to make alternative plans, often with “devastating consequences”, says local MP Liz Saville Roberts.

As a result, the MP has established a Dwyfor Meirionnydd WASPI (Women Against State Pension Inequality) group which aims to persuade the government to make “fair transitional arrangements” for women born in the 1950s who must now wait up to six more years to receive their state pension.

The march, which took place last weekend, was attended by several local dignitaries.

Mrs Saville Roberts said: “Throughout their working lives, 1950s women were not treated as equal to men; their wages were lower, they didn’t get the same benefits, and they were often treated differently in the workplace.

“The simple fact that they have been mothers and carers penalises the pensions of many of them.

“The government thought these women would simply go away. But not only haven’t they gone away but they are getting stronger.

“To mark International Women’s Day in my constituency, I joined the Dwyfor Meirionnydd WASPI campaign group, which I helped establish, on a march through Porthmadog in solidarity with local WASPI women.

“It’s important that we keep up the pressure on the government and continue to highlight the real impact the changes in state pension have had on women in my constituency.”

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