The pension reform is about to be finalized, clearly marking the difference between its supporters and detractors both in the field of social agents and in the political arena. Yesterday the meeting of the dialogue table ended with many advances and only a couple of pending points that prevented the unions from giving their approval. In any case, he is very close.
CC.OO. and UGT expect a new document this Tuesday and have already convened their management bodies for Wednesday to take a final position. On the other hand, the CEOE has reaffirmed its refusal. The proposal is “regressive” and it will not have the support of business organizations,” said the director of Labor Relations for the employer, Rosa Santos, as she left the meeting.
And in the political scene the differences are also well marked. This Monday, the president of the PP, Alberto Núñez Feijóo, flatly rejected the reform. He considers it one more example of the “Sánchez misgovernment” and “a patch until 2025 to get by to finish the legislature.” The leader of the PP described the proposal as a “pseudo-reform”, and added that “Sánchez wants everyone to pay more to obtain the same thing and that it is more difficult to achieve it”, and also that the president of the Government “will have to bear the responsibility of a reform that, apparently, is full of gaps”.
From the moment the reform proposal was presented, the employers clearly opposed the approaches that it incorporates. Yesterday, Lorenzo Amor, the president of the Association of Self-Employed Workers (ATA), stated that it is “an ax blow” and that “it will pave the way for the underground economy.” Amor acknowledged that employers know that pensions must be guaranteed, but they disagree on whether it must be done by increasing social contributions.
Certainly, this is one of the essential points of the reform. To cover the increase in expenses, new sources of income are incorporated, with the top of maximum pensions, and through the Intergenerational Equity Mechanism (MEI) and the solidarity quota.
Precisely, with respect to this solidarity quota is where one of the objections of the unions remains. They demand “that the forecast that each year’s budget law may limit the scope of the solidarity quota disappear”, in the words of Carlos Bravo, from CC.OO. Another point that the unions are demanding are guarantees on the level of minimum pensions. The certain thing is that the negotiation seems on the verge of closing. “We could have an agreement tomorrow (today Tuesday), when they send the final text,” said Fernando Luján, from UGT, and that is why the two unions have already convened their highest management bodies.
This Monday also came a first public pronouncement from Brussels. The Commissioner for the Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, confirmed the “positive and constructive” spirit of the intense talks over the last month in particular with the Spanish authorities, at the highest level, on the reform of public pensions, although he did not want to give details. “The contacts focused on how the Spanish authorities are going to face the issue of financial stability in the pension reform, which is included in the recovery plan. The discussion was positive and constructive” but “it is up to the Government to announce its decision on what it wants to propose to Parliament.” The European Commission, he added, will then be responsible for “evaluating these proposals.”
