“A non-payment of the next wage indexation is not an option for us. We are in the midst of a purchasing power crisis and the situation is very tense for the population,” stressed Nora Back, president of the Independent Luxembourg Trade Union Confederation (OGBL), during her interview with our colleagues from RTL Radio on Wednesday morning.
Reacting to a statement made by Tom Oberweis, president of the Chamber of Skilled Trades and Crafts, Back pointed out that “we are not in an economic crisis or recession”. “Employment is high, unemployment is low” and there are “virtually no bankruptcies”. “It should be brought up from time to time,” the OGBL President explained, adding that to say otherwise is “a pessimistic outlook, not reality”.
According to Back, large corporations are still doing well, “particularly in the banking and oil sectors.” In addition, the OGBL President mentions the case of the Cactus group, “which just last year distributed €60 million in dividends”. Back noted that two wage indexations would not even amount to €6 million in comparison.
A survey of craft industry entrepreneurs in August reportedly showed that 70% of companies acknowledged that their business is stable and 20% even said that it was growing. Businesses could therefore “survive” a wage indexation, Back stated. She acknowledged that “the crisis creates winners and losers,” and that increased energy and food prices primarily affect small and medium-sized companies.
The population in particular “needs immediate help,” which is why the OGBL will continue to campaign for the maintenance of the next wage indexations. However, Back stressed that wage indexations alone are no longer enough, because “they only compensate for the loss of purchasing power”. In addition, “the tax table needs to be adjusted to the wage indexation system”. While Back thinks that an energy allowance, as suggested by the Pirate Party and the newly founded Fokus party, would also be “an interesting option,” she declined to elaborate because she “doesn’t want to pre-empt the tripartite negotiations.”
The three trade unions will approach the tripartite meetings as “a united front” and will try to represent a single position, as they did last time. But in the end, each will have to make its own decision. The OGBL president hopes that the negotiations on Sunday were well prepared and that they will not take place again under pressure. She also hopes to receive the necessary data in order to properly assess the situation and take appropriate measures, Back stated.
