'The government view women of my generation as a subspecies,' says Doncaster woman involved in pension age compensation fight

Pam Johnson, aged 63, from Cantley is a member of the Women Against State Pension Inequality (WASPI) group, which has branches across the country.

The Doncaster group started in November 2019 and has 140 members.

The WASPI Women are protesting because they feel that the change in the pension age from 60 - 66 was not handled appropriately by the government and they are asking for compensation.

Pam said: “They are killing the backbone of this country - it’s inhumane and makes me feel like the government view the women of my generation as a subspecies.

“We have worked all our lives and now some of these women have to rely on food banks and are selling their homes.”

She added: “I worked in Tesco until July last year.”

“I was becoming less and less able to do the manual work there - I would go home crying because I have arthritis and dermatitis.

“I’m lucky I have a partner who can support me but thousands of women my age across the country do not.

“It’s them who I’m fighting for - I don’t care if I get arrested.”

Pam recently attended a sit-in protest at the DWP in London where she sat for hours trying to raise awareness of the WASPI Women’s cause.

“When I found out that they had changed the age that I was able to retire it felt like I was hit with a brick - my whole world fell apart,” she continued.

“I only rang up because I wanted to cut my hours down at the time but I was informed that I would not be able to retire for years to come - this was the first time I found out this information - I could not believe it.

“You plan your retirement your whole life - thinking the agony will end at some point.

“To then be told that it wasn’t going to - I can’t find words strong enough to describe how hard that was.”