The General Council rejected this morning the proposal to link the increase of all wages to the CPI of the Social Democratic Partyin a debate focused on the loss of purchasing power and the country’s economic model.
The president of the Social Democratic parliamentary group, Susanna Velahas defended that Andorra than the current system “does not redistribute equitably” and wages above the minimum often fall behind. According to the PS, a generalized update of salaries would preserve purchasing power and provide social stabilitypreventing increases from depending solely on the decision of each company.
sailing has assured that the proposal is part of a commitment to “an open economy focused on improving the social contract” and has claimed to establish bases for employers and workers to reach balanced consensusesin addition to strengthening public policies aimed at workers and small and medium-sized companies.
fromAndorra Go ahead, Carine Montaner has supported the initiative and stated that, “if rents go up with the CPI, wages must too”. The councilor has called for legislative changes and has expressed the hope that the chamber will end up approving measures along these lines.
Maria Ángeles Achéof concordhas shared the diagnosis about the rising cost of living. The parliamentarian remarked that the increase in prices is felt in everyday aspects, while many wages “remain the same”which causes a loss of purchasing power.
ache he insisted that many working people only make ends meet and defended that a salary should allow them to live “with dignity, without the need to work overtime”. He has also linked the wage debate to the country’s ability to retain workers and guarantee economic and social stability.
On the contrary, the Democratic General Counsel Meritxell Lopez has defended the measures promoted by Government during the last years. As he has explained, in the last five years the minimum wage has increased by 45%, while inflation has increased by 22%, a figure similar to the increase in the median salary.
Lopez has denied that the problem exposed by the opposition groups exists and has recalled that the executive has assigned 22 million euros in aid for families and 5 million in rent aid. He has also highlighted housing policies, the creation of public parks, guarantee programs for the purchase of the first home and free public transport.
The proposal, however, has not prospered due to the opposition of the parliamentary majority.
