Due to higher-than-expected inflation and loss of purchasing power, a proper analysis of the situation is needed, as well as “differentiated solutions and a fair tax policy, rather than manipulation of the index”. After the director of the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (STATEC) announced on Monday on RTL that a new wage indexation could be triggered before the end of the year, the OGBL feels vindicated in its belief that the decisions taken at the most recent tripartite meeting in March were the wrong ones.
According to the OGBL President, “autumn will be tough” and the next tripartite meeting should be prepared “with the utmost seriousness” this time. Back demands “solutions for the people,” but also for companies “that actually need help”. She also thinks that it would be important for the three trade union organisations to meet again before the next tripartite meeting. In contrast to the OGBL, the Luxembourg Confederation of Christian Trade Unions (LCGB) and the General Confederation of the Civil Service (CGFP) endorsed the measures approved at the tripartite meeting at the end of March.
Back criticised the government for “cooking up stories”. In particular, the criticism that the OGBL lobbied for earning high wages during the tripartite is based on negotiating tactics that were “taken completely out of context,” the OGBL President stressed. According to Back, a “maximalist demand” had been cherrypicked, without comparing it with the “far more extreme” demands of the employers, such as “a manipulation of the index until 2023".
