One particular figure is highlighted: +30.8%. This is the result of the financial sector in 2021. The year, which was still a pandemic year, was very lucrative, the union said, pointing out that it was not only the companies but also their shareholders who benefited.
This strengthens the OGBL in its decision not to sign the recent tripartite agreement. If it is true that a certain number of companies are currently suffering from the increase in energy prices and that they therefore really need to be helped, it is equally undeniable that this does not apply to all companies operating in the country.
In this context, the union said it supported aid that was targeted and aimed exclusively at companies in genuine difficulty. And according to the OGBL, this is not be the case under the agreement reached at the end of March. The government has opted for massive aid, completely untargeted and undifferentiated, to benefit all companies, the union believes.
By manipulating the index, the trade union organisation considers that the government has massively transferred the purchasing power of households to all companies. A ‘gift’ of several hundred million euros for companies which steals the index from employees and pensioners.
On Friday, the OGBL reaffirmed its position on the agreement signed at the end of March by the government, employers, the LCGP and the CGFP. However, the union welcomed what it described as a turnaround in relation to family allowances.
The OGBL said that the increase in summer was good news, but that the government’s backtracking proved that the solidarity package announced last month had not been thought through.
