The opposition parties and trade unions have strongly criticised the federal Government’s summer agreement, consisting of important socio-economic reforms. Employers' organisations, however, are reacting more positively. After a night of negotiations, the federal majority parties presented reforms in pensions, the labour market, healthcare and taxes. According to the chair of the Christian trade union ACV, “Eighty years of social progress in terms of working hours and pensions have been wiped out overnight”.
“For employers, this is indeed the biggest socio-economic reform of the century, but for employees, there has never been such a rollback in the past 100 years,” added the chair of the socialist trade union ABVV. The liberal trade union ACLVB is more understanding. “The fiscal measures that boost purchasing power are very welcome, especially now that there is no wage margin,” said the ACLVB chair.
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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
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