“The deferral of the wage indexations must be stopped,” said Romain Wolff on Wednesday, as the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC) presented its latest inflation forecasts, from which it emerged that a new wage indexation will likely be due before the end of the year.
Cancelling an indexation “would not work” and it is “not feasible to continue indefinitely with the tax credits,” according to Wolff. At the end of March, the CGFP had supported the postponement of a wage indexation, compensated by staggered tax credits. But Wolff argues that at the time, the tripartite negotiations were based on figures, which were “quickly rendered outdated by reality”. The CGFP President believes that the counter should be reset and that new negotiations should be conducted.
Wolff assumes that there will be a new tripartite meeting at the end of the year, in November at the latest. He feels that the next tripartite meeting should be “well prepared”. The tripartite partners should take their time and “it cannot only be about the index”. The issue of housing in times of high interest rates is also a subject that will have to be addressed, according to Wolff, who added that the same goes for taxes. On this point, the CGFP President demands the adjustment of the tax table to inflation. In addition, Wolff thinks that “something should be done for the middle classes”.
Negotiations on a new wage agreement for civil servants are also imminent. On Wednesday morning, Wolff did not want to anticipate what the CGFP will or will not demand. The CGFP has often shown solidarity in the past, notably with the wage freeze during the last wage agreement and with the tripartite agreement. It is now the turn of the employers to show solidarity, instead of demanding reduced starting salaries from the state as they have done recently, the CGFP President argued.
