The Chamber revised its 30 “key measures” released earlier this month in a footnote.
In early February, the Chamber of Commerce proposed a trifold amendment to the wage indexation system as the 21st of its 30 key measures ahead of the elections. The Chamber demanded that wage indexations be limited to one per year at most, that they be degressive starting at four times the median wage, and that the system be based on a “sustainable” basket of goods.
Four times the median salary equals around €14,600 per month. In an interview on Radio 100,7, the Chamber of Commerce’s new president, Fernand Ernster, stated that he believes this ceiling is too high. No later than Monday, Chamber of Commerce Director Carlo Thelen published a blog post that merely mentioned a twofold amendment.
According to Thelen’s new proposal, indexation would be paid in full up to 1.5 times the median salary, followed by capped indexation up to four times the median salary, and ultimately degressive indexation for all other amounts. In concrete terms, this means that the Chamber of Commerce now demands full wage indexation only for salaries of up to €5,440 a month, instead of €14,600. Measure No. 21 in the Chamber’s key measures has been updated to reflect this. A footnote has been added which explains that the measure was “fleshed out to reflect the longstanding viewpoint of the Chamber of Commerce regarding the wage indexation system.”
