Tom Dominique, the new president of the CES, explained that the Council is a cornerstone of social dialogue in Luxembourg and was created by the social partners to act as a "mediator". For Dominique, it is a good sign when the CES is barely mentioned in the news because it suggests that it is doing its job of ensuring a civil dialogue between the social partners.
The CES was introduced by law in 1966. As an institution, it supports the government in leading and accompanying the social dialogue. Every year, the CES publishes a report on the country's economic and social situation and at times gives its opinion on various topics.
Social dialogue has not suffered during the crisis
The CES was able to continue its work without any major problems and the social dialogue has not suffered, Dominique stated. At the start of the pandemic, there may have been some practical issues to maintain social dialogue and the Council did put together less opinions than it had initially expected. However, Dominique pointed out that the CES is also not interested in acting as a stage for social conflict, but instead tries to promote discussions based on factual and well thought out arguments.
Does Luxembourg risk a "pension crash" in 2030?
In an interview with Paperjam, Dominique's predecessor Jean-Jacques Rommes stated that he is very pessimistic regarding the country's pension system. In response to these statements, Dominique pointed out that they merely reflected Rommes' personal opinion, and not the position of the CES. As the Director of the General Inspectorate of Social Security (IGSS), Dominique added, he is also in charge of carrying out a periodical evaluation of the pension system. Such an evaluation is planned for late 2021/early 2022.
Dominique himself discussed the risk of a "pension crash", i.e. an imbalance between profits and costs which is expected to occur in 2030, in an interview with Radio 100,7 in 2016. Dominique explained that the necessary instruments to deal with this issue and adapt the system had already been prepared, citing a Compensation Fund as an example. The current focus is on further fleshing out these mechanisms.
Other important topics on the CES' agenda are sustainability and digitalisation, according to Dominique.
