Pieter Timmermans “sounds the alarm”: growth is at half mast, labor costs are soaring, the competitiveness of our companies is at risk. The boss of the Belgian Business Federation offers “a consultation involving employers, unions and government” to cope.
Lhe Belgian Business Federation is issuing a “cry of alarm”: the effect of the war in Ukraine is to seriously deteriorate the economic situation: growth is no longer following, business investment is falling, exports too, the competitiveness of our economy in general is at risk… Peter Timmermans, CEO, and Edward Rosens, chief economist, did not beat around the bush on Wednesday morning, speaking at the headquarters of the employers’ organization: you have to touch the index finger. The mechanism has become “unbearable” economically speaking, to hear them. “We are going straight into the wall”, warns Pieter Timmermans.
“The latest forecasts from the planning office indicate that we will have six wage indexations this year in Belgium. It is a tragedy for our competitiveness. Salary costs are soaring in Belgium, extremely vulnerable, we cannot remain without reacting. The same punctuates: “We can reach levels of 10% to 15% inflation in the fall. Frankly, we will then enter a recession if the situation does not change, if the automatic indexation of wages is maintained as it is. »
Pieter Timmermans calls for the organization of a “tripartite consultation”, associating employers, unions and political authorities, “to find solutions aimed at mitigating the crisis of competitiveness”. He implores the trade unions to “realize the gravity of the situation”. The goal, he says, is to “find a fairer distribution of the costs generated by the crisis”. To this end, the boss of bosses, in addition to acting on energy prices, proposes in particular to “temporarily limit the impact of automatic wage indexation”. There are several possible ways to do this. This: “Postpone a slice of indexation of 2.5% to next year, in view of wage developments in neighboring countries, all this combined with a reduction in taxation on low wages. Or: “Index wages in percentages up to a certain level of remuneration and apply a fixed indexation above this level. » Finally: « By enhancing the mass of indexation, for example for the harmonization of the second pillar. »
Timmermans criticizes the experts
Pieter Timmermans: “Let’s change our wage formation system. If we don’t act now, then we will have to make an index jump in 2024, it will be inevitable. I don’t want to come to that. Hence the reforms of the mechanism that I am proposing today. We absolutely must act now. »
Pieter Timmermans points out in passing the proposals relating to support for purchasing power recently submitted to the government by a group of experts: “The expert report devotes three pages to the seriousness of the economic situation and everything else to possible new expenses ! It’s incredible. Business owners don’t understand. »
