CC OO accuses government of “being in a loop” and demands it “take the initiative and act differently” if it wants to reach a deal
The optimism shown last Thursday by Social Security Minister José Luis Escrivá, confident that the second phase of the pension reform will be completed “in the coming weeks”, and even agreed before the end of February, stands in stark contrast to the pessimism expressed by CC OO this Friday, accusing the government of “not being decisive”, “being in a loop” and not being “cleaning up or encroaching”.
The union, far from believing it could be ready by February, denounced that negotiations have been “practically paralyzed” for a month and that no progress has been made in a case that had been pledged before December 31 last year. must be agreed with Brussels. “I would like to be as optimistic as the minister,” said Carlos Bravo, Secretary of the CCOO’s Secretary of Public Policy and Social Protection, ironized.
“There is an impasse. The government is in a loop, turning internally and not just clearing up or moving forward,” said Bravo, who warned Escrivá that to move forward “he must take the initiative and act differently.”
In fact, the minister is now more focused on getting the support of the parliamentary groups so that he can approve the procedures in Congress and the same is not happening with the labor reform: it was approved thanks to an erroneous vote by a representative of the PP. This is what the social partners have demanded and it is doing, but this makes what is quite frankly a tough negotiation even more difficult. “We are looking for an agreement in both areas and that makes the process a bit more complicated,” Escrivá admitted last Thursday.
The two measures presented by the minister at the table of the social dialogue – which has not been convened since December 12 -, the extension of the pension calculation period to 30 years and the increase of the maximum contributions by 30%, do not convince even the trade unions, neither the employers nor for most political forces.
In addition, the UGT and CC OO are now demanding that new cases not discussed be included, and are calling for the extension of the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) until 2050, which increases social contributions by 0.6% until 2033 to retirement piggy to fill bank. According to CC OO, extending the application year to 28 would have “very strong potential” as it assumes an accumulated contribution to the reserve fund of almost 1% of GDP and would represent “a very remarkable support mechanism”.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
