Trade unions and employers have received their invitations for the next tripartite meeting on Friday 3 March at Senningerberg Castle. They were sent to them by the government, following the latest Statec forecasts according to which the end of anti-inflation measures, scheduled for December 2023, could cause an inflationary shock at the beginning of 2024.
On the agenda: phasing out subsidies. “Inflation remains high, people need support. How this will be done remains to be seen,” summarises , president of the labour union OGBL. The union hopes that, unlike previous tripartite meetings convened in a hurry, this one will give them time to work on a “socially targeted” system. For example, a ceiling on the price of gas adapted according to income, it says, even if “the minister of energy had explained to us at the previous meeting that it was difficult to put in place, because consumption and purchasing power are not necessarily linked.” On the contrary, the most modest households are more likely to be tenants and therefore have no power to decide how to heat their homes.
Indexation maintained in 2023
Another long-standing demand of the union is that “the tax scale be adapted” to the cost of living. Nora Back also reiterated her commitment to maintaining the indexation in 2023 and 2024. Even if the question should not arise for the time being, since the government has committed itself, in the tripartite agreement signed last September, to maintaining the third index in 2023 (including the one in July 2022, postponed to April 2023) and to covering its cost for companies. “In the letter, the government wrote in black and white that this indexation would be paid for. We are reassured.”
The LCGB is also hoping for discussions on the gradual abolition of aid to “reduce the cost of energy,” adds , its president. The LCGB also hopes to put the issue of “adapting the tax scale” back on the table. When asked which aids should or should not be kept in 2024, he replied that “this will be the subject of discussions.”
Tripartite, inflation and elections
The Union des Entreprises Luxembourgeoises (UEL) is planning to hold a meeting of its decision-making bodies before 3 March to list its priorities. “For us, the main subject is the phasing-out, how we organise ourselves for 2024, knowing that there will be legislative elections before then,” explains director of the employers' union. “We have to see what the government proposes. We want to avoid an inflationary shock.”
Prime minister (DP) should also explain to the UEL “how he wishes to compensate for the third salary band. There are certainly several ways from a technical point of view, we have no information. But its cost will be compensated” for the companies, asserted Olinger before specifying that this coverage only concerns 2023. From 1 January 2024, the cost of indexation for the third quarter of 2023 should therefore be passed on to employers. Another point to be discussed at the tripartite meeting? “We will have to see, after our meeting,” says Olinger.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.