Vertenueil (FGTB): "If there is no salary margin, it will explode"

Belgium

The president of the FGTB has just learned that the wage margin calculated by the Central Economic Council (CEC) to begin the discussions of the inter-professional agreement was … -0,2. No margin, therefore. "I'm angry …", he says.

He went back, Robert Vertenueil. And that's not enough to say … Because he just learned that the wage standard would be … 0. Even before the start of negotiations for the 2019-2020 interprofessional agreement (AIP), anger is palpable. "Yesterday, I learned that projections of the Central Council of the Economy (CEC), which calculates the amount that is usually used as a basis for discussions, pointed a negative margin of -0.2%, so it will be 0. I You admit that I am totally misunderstood, especially since there are some quirks behind the calculations, but there is no question, in any case, that there is no wage margin. some of whom are already in the street with yellow vests, could put on red vests to express their feelings.And this feeling is what? That despite all that the government we basine in terms of numbers, the purchasing power has declined in the last four years. "

We play the devil's advocates. We refer to projections from the Federal Planning Bureau, which show that disposable income has increased this year and should increase by 1.9% in 2019. To this, Robert Vertenueil retorts. "Yes, but disposable income is what, it is not the net salary in hand, and here both the European Commission this week and the ILO (International Labor Organization) recently showed that the power of purchase had decreased in recent years.All this to tell you that I will not accept this wage freeze.For the negotiation of the 2017-2018 agreement, we had derogated from the law (competitiveness of 1996, ed) by practicing an index jump, I ask that the law be derogated from here too, and based on our calculations, and based on the work of the CCE, the margin would be 1.4%, you know, more and more Presidents of power stations are scared because they feel that the expectations of people, who have a hard time making ends meet, are important and they are waiting for a gesture from this government that has done everything for large companies up to if these expectations are not met, if wages are frozen For two years, it will be explosive, especially on December 14th, which marks the culmination of the trade union actions started on December 10. "