The General Workers Union today called on the government to look into new ways of stimulating population growth, including cash grants to encourage couples to have children and sustainable integration of migrants.

Any changes to contributory pension must be sustainable and fair on future generations, the General Workers’ Union said in a statement today in reaction to the government’s pension proposals.

Certain anomalies in the current system must he removed in order to maintain the spirit of social justice, the GWU said.

The Union welcomed the fact the retirement age and social security contributions will not be increased.

It also welcomed the fact that people working multiple part-time jobs will have the total hours worked added together for pension calculation purposes.

The GWU called the proposal to allow those past retirement age to continue working “interesting,” thus bolstering their pension.

It said social partners and the government must agree on removing the current limit age limit on pensioners who continue to work.

The Union emphasised the importance of the government ensuring that everyone pays their pension contributions, as well as cutting down on welfare abuse.