The unions say it is unacceptable that the pensions of civil servants are addressed without prior consultation. The chairman of the largest opposition party, Bart De Wever (N-VA), speaks of ‘a direct attack on the pension security of future generations’.
The unions working for civil servants are unhappy with the way the pension reform is being imposed without prior consultation. On Radio 1, Ilse Heylen of ACV public services speaks of a ’round civil servant bashing’. ‘If one cannot get out of files such as tax reform, one apparently finds it necessary to go through a round of civil servant bashing. Then something like this comes out as a result and then of course we are dissatisfied. The equivalence ensures the prosperity of civil servants and that is of course important to us.’
The parequation is the system whereby the pensions follow the evolution of the wages of the still active civil servants, on top of the increase in the index. From now on, the civil servants’ pension can only increase by a maximum of 0.3 percent per year. The system of perequation is therefore not completely abolished, but capped. The liberals had already put this on the table when drawing up the budget for 2023, but it was then resolutely brushed off the table by the left-wing parties in the government. Today it came through.
The socialist government union ACOD finds it unacceptable that this was decided without consultation with the unions. This defies all imagination. It is incomprehensible and unacceptable’, says chairman Chris Reniers. Reniers is not satisfied with the way in which this agreement was reached. Another meeting was scheduled for Thursday. ‘ACOD was open to switching to a different system of calculation,’ she told Het Nieuwsblad. “But we didn’t even get the chance.”
The unions are critical of the reform of the civil servants’ pension, but the pension reform also contains elements that may count on more sympathy from the unions, including the pension bonus. However, the unions want to obtain more detailed information about the entire pension reform before reacting.
Not only the unions are prancing. The chairman of the largest federal opposition party N-VA, Bart De Wever, speaks of ‘a direct attack on the pension security of future generations’. “Even if this anecdotal pension deal were to save what it promises,” he tweeted, “the final balance of this government is a significant increase in the aging bill of at least 2.5 billion euros. Annual.’
Vlaams Belang talks about ‘murmuring in the margins’. According to party chairman Barbara Pas, the first tranche of recovery money from Europe is under threat. After all, the European Commission had proposed 1 to 1.2 percent savings in pension expenditure, in exchange for 947 million euros in recovery money, while Belgium now only accounts for 0.5 percent of GDP.
There is also dissatisfaction on the other side of the political spectrum. For example, Raoul Hedebouw of PTB/PVDA tweeted: ‘No agreement to tax the super rich. No agreement on heavy professions, which also have to continue until the age of 67. But there is an agreement to save 3 billion on pensions.’
From the majority, each party emphasizes the element that is most important for its own conviction. Minister of Pensions Karine Lalieux hated the ‘historic revaluation of the minimum pension’. Deputy Prime Minister Petra De Sutter (Green) emphasizes that from now on parental leave and informal care leave will count as years actually worked. ‘It is mainly women who take this leave and therefore have an interrupted career. This agreement does not jeopardize their right to a minimum pension.’
Party chairman Georges-Louis Bouchez sums up what he believes was acquired by the MR: ‘years actually worked for the minimum pension; start equalization of pension systems; bonus for all those who work longer’.
Deputy Prime Minister Vincent Van Quickenborne (Open VLD) emphasized to De Standaard on Monday morning that the reform of civil servants’ pensions had already been put on the table by the liberals in the budget preparation discussions, but that it was still ‘not done’ for the left-wing parties in the government. “We’ve tackled a sacred cow.”
Minister of Finance Vincent Van Peteghem (CD&V) rather remains on the level. “With this agreement we continue to work on keeping our pensions affordable,” he tweeted. ‘Efforts that are necessary to also offer social protection to our children and grandchildren. We continue to reform to build for tomorrow.’ With that, he no doubt also has his own tax reform in mind, which is now back at the top of the Vivaldi government’s agenda.
Steps
‘A few cents less are being spent here and there, but I don’t see real reform that seriously rewards effective work.’ Professor of labor economics Stijn Baert (UGent, UA) talks on Twitter about ‘logical steps towards what Europe is asking for’.
This agreement will reduce the cost of aging by 0.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2070. ‘When you know that by then those costs will automatically increase by 5% of GDP, you realize that this will not be the pension reform that the social security secures.’
2023-07-10 10:18:00
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