Luxemburg. Fuel, wages… Here are the measures to deal with rising prices
By Ninon Oget
Published on
Faced with price inflation, the government of Luxemburg and the social partners discussed for several days within the framework of the tripartite.
And after announcing the measures taken at the end of it, the various parties were unveiled, this Thursday, March 31, 2022, the final agreement signed by the State as well as the unions, except the OGBL.
“The evolution of prices scares people”
In front of the journalists, the Prime Minister, Xavier Bettel, assures that this tripartite has for but to “propose ideas and solutions together” to the current economic situation.
“It is an international crisis that is hitting us here in Luxembourg. The evolution of prices frightens people, ”says the head of state.
But to try to reassure them and guarantee purchasing power, the government, the LCGB and CGFP unions and the Union des entreprises luxembourgeoises have validated a series of measurements.
For Xavier Bettel, “in an exceptional situation, exceptional measures”
Among the latter, we find the report of an indexation. While the salary increase paid very soon is maintained, this will be the only one of the year.
The government decides to postpone to April 2023 the index tranche which, according to the latest Statec expenditure [Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques]should fall in August 2022. It also decides to postpone any potential additional index tranche by 12 months in 2023, in order to guarantee more predictability to companies.
The president of the LCGB, Patrick Dury, nevertheless ensures that the mechanism of indexation is not called into question: ” There is just a report “.
In return, people suffering from a loss of purchasing power will be compensated through a tax credit. For example, “for salaries and pensions between 936 and 44,000 euros per year, this credit will amount to 84 euros per month”, specifies the agreement.
Faced with the price of energy, specific aid
In addition to the index tranches, energy costs are also at the heart of the measures.
First of all, the idea is to lower “consumer prices for petrol, diesel and heating oil 7.5 cents all taxes included. These measures remain in effect until July 31, 2022 for gasoline and diesel and until December 31, 2022 for heating diesel.
For companies financed by energy prices, specific aid has also been approved: for example, 500 million euros are planned to “facilitate access to bank credit for companies that have liquidity needs due to the economic consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine”.
This range of measures should be put in place quickly, according to Xavier Bettel: “We must not waste no time to put them into practice.
A revaluation of travel expenses
But among these solutions, one claimed by the Automobile club of Luxembourg (ACL) is not present: the revaluation of travel expenses.
In one Press release on March 24, the ACL announced that it would reiterate “its request to the government to consider an increase in flat-rate travel expenses for those who live furthest from their place of work”.
The maximum allowance is now 2,574 euros per year, or 214.50 euros per month. Given the situation, the ACL considers that it would be appropriate to restore the flat-rate travel expenses to 2,970 euros per year (i.e. 247.50 euros per month) as was the case until 2012.
But Patrick Dury assures at a press conference that “small and medium wages are strongly supported” by the agreement signed as it stands.
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