France: Mass protests against higher retirement age

Publicerad denFörfattareIngo Geiger

France’s President Emmanuel Macron wants to raise the retirement age by two years. However, 72 percent of French people are against the pension reform—and the trend is rising. Since mid-January, hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets and workers have gone on strike throughout the country. In addition, there is a new form of protest: the union from the energy sector supplied schools, hospitals and poor families with free electricity for one day. In this way, the striking workers want to demonstrate their power and prevent the raising of the retirement age.
They call it a “Robin Hood action”: On January 26, 2023, trade unionist Sébastien Menesplier announced that on that day free electricity and gas would flow to schools, hospitals, social buildings and poor families. In the mass strikes in France, quite a few employees from the energy sector have not only stopped working, according to the report—but have used the levers they are sitting on to create a piece of social justice. “We decided this collectively in a general assembly,” Sébastien Menesplier told the BFMTV television channel. He is president of the National Federation of Mines and Energy (FNME) of the CGT union.
“We have given a favorable tariff to small traders such as bakers or artisans,” he announced. People who have had their electricity or gas cut off because of unpaid bills—”by unscrupulous suppliers and despite the winter,” Menesplier said—were now receiving gas and electricity again.
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“This is just the beginning,” said Fabrice Coudour, general secretary of the CGT-Energie union. “We can carry out Robin Hood actions at any moment.” French energy company EDF left a press inquiry from Kontrast unanswered—so neither confirmed nor denied the accounts.
Fourteen nuclear reactors out of 56 are at a standstill, refineries and gas stations are paralyzed all over the country, trains are not running, schools are not teaching, and employees have also stopped work in factories such as those of the canning company Bonduelles. Some are only striking selectively, on days of the general strike, which kicked off Jan. 19. Others continue to strike without interruption. The pressure of the population on politics is enormous—and also shows that there is more at stake in social justice in general than just this one pension reform. That is the bone of contention.
Trigger of the protests: attack on a central social achievement
It was exactly three years ago—when the masses on France’s streets had already prevented it once with strikes: the increase of the retirement age to 64. The country was at a standstill, the higher retirement age was prevented. Now the issue is back on the table—and the French population is once again on the streets. President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Elizabeth Borne want to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
For some neighboring countries, retirement at 64 may sound downright idyllic—in Germany, for example, the current retirement age is 67, in Austria 65. In France, on the other hand, the increase to 64 is considered virtually sacrilegious. Why?
On the one hand, the low retirement age stands for a social achievement from the 1980s under then President François Mitterand: Anyone who attacks this achievement is, in the eyes of the French, attacking the entire social policy. This has been steadily dismantled by the governments of recent years.
Macron’s governments loosened protection against dismissal, cut housing benefits—and abolished the wealth tax. The low entry age therefore has a symbolic value as well as a practical one—less work.
Old-age poverty threatens to increase
It should also be taken into account that the planned pension reform threatens to make old-age poverty even more acute for many people than it already is. People who lose their jobs at the age of 60, for example, or become incapacitated due to physical ailments, are often unable to find new work. But they are then not entitled to a full pension rate. The state saves, those affected suffer.
In particular, people who take parental leave or have been unemployed in between are penalized by this reform—because these years are not counted. Then, in old age, these years are either added on in the form of even more years of working time—or the pension turns out to be particularly low. Since women still take more and longer parental leave than men, the reform would further exacerbate inequality.
Instead, the CGT union argues for higher contributions from working people—but especially from listed companies.
“As a reminder, in 2022, the top 40 listed companies in France made 80 billion euros in profits—an unprecedented peak!” a CGT paper says. That the missing money could be fetched from the super-rich and corporations is one of the main arguments of the opponents:of pension reform.
Despite arrests: Over a million people demonstrated
On January 19, 2023, over one million people took to the streets nationwide. The next large-scale mobilization is scheduled for January 31. In the time in between, however, the protest did not sleep—on the contrary. On many evenings in several cities—Paris, Strasbourg, Nantes—people with CGT flags and in torchlight processions wandered through the cities. A few hundred yellow vests also set off again on their traditional Saturday.

The President of France, Emmanuel Macron, is trying to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64.
So the eight biggest unions across the country called a massive wave of strikes and protests today, with over 200 actions across the country.
pic.twitter.com/WiKOl69nQa
— Read Jackson Rising by @CooperationJXN (@JoshuaPHilll) January 19, 2023

Meanwhile, police repression is evident. Videos from the mass demonstration on Jan. 19 show images of police violence—even apart from that, there are dubious operations. At numerous universities throughout France, students are currently coming together to organize against the pension reform. To this end, “general assemblies” are being held in lecture halls. In Strasbourg and Paris on the Condorcet campus, such general assemblies were stormed by French riot police (CRS). Twenty-nine students were arrested in Paris on January 22 and were forced to hold out for 22 hours in custody, without food or drink. In both cases, the respective university directors ordered the police storming of the student general assembly.
“They want to prevent the student protests from structuring, from students organizing,” said a young woman named Erelle on Twitter—she is part of the anti-capitalist student collective “Raised Fist” (“Poing levé”).
Government wants to push through law without parliamentary approval
Meanwhile, tension is rising at the parliamentary and party political level. Each camp is pulling out all available stops. The government either wants to push the law through as 49-3 – a paragraph that allows a law to be pushed through without a parliamentary vote. Or the law will be pushed through as a purely financial project. Both paragraphs allow for “government bypass” of Parliament, without a vote. Many criticize the procedure as deeply undemocratic.
Meanwhile, the opposition is preparing for resistance from both the right and the left. Both the left-wing Nupes alliance and the extreme right-wing Rassemblement National want to call for a referendum, i.e., to have the French vote on the reform. The crux of the matter is that only one motion may be submitted. The far-right and the left-wing alliance must therefore agree on a text for the motion, or at least endorse the text of their opponents in a vote. A closing of ranks that the left-wing Nupes faction considers unacceptable. Now, the question remains whether the right-wingers will support the motion of the left-wing opponents.
If that happens, however, it remains unlikely that a referendum will actually be held—because ultimately it would require the final approval of the president. For the president, this would be a complete loss of face. According to surveys, 72 percent of French citizens are against the pension reform—and the trend is increasing every week. It is highly unlikely that Macron allows such a referendum.
Nevertheless, the pressure on the government is increasing. After all, the strikes not only bring crowds onto the streets, but also cause very real economic damage. In particular, when gasoline and energy sectors are at a standstill, the economy goes into a tailspin. The next large-scale mobilization is set for January 31. But the French rail union CGT-Cheminots is already announcing that it will go on an indefinite strike starting in mid-February. The fight over pension reform will also be one of endurance.
This work is licensed under the Creative Common License. It can be republished for free, either translated or in the original language. In both cases, please cite / Lea Fauth as the original source/author and set a link to this article on Scoop.me. https://scoop.me/france-retirement-reform/
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Rent cap in Denmark: rents may increase by a maximum of 4 percent

Publicerad denFörfattareKontrast.at

Denmark introduced a rent cap. The rents were set to rise by 10 percent because they are linked to inflation—as they are in Austria. But the Danish government has removed this link in order to ease the burden on households: rents may increase by a maximum of 4 percent until 2024, and increases that have already been made must even be reversed. 
In January, a letter arrived with the new rent—and it wasn’t a nasty surprise: For his 42-square-meter apartment in the middle of Copenhagen, the Dane will pay only 534 euros per month for 2023 instead of 623. The posting of the user “Piitaa-Pain” spread quickly on the Internet. The reason behind this is a rent cap introduced by the Danish government, which applies from January 2023. Denmark is governed by a coalition of social democrats, liberal conservatives and liberal moderates.
Rents to rise by 4 percent instead of 10 percent
In 2023 and 2024, rents in Denmark may rise by a maximum of 4 percent. Actually, rents in Denmark are linked to inflation, just like in Austria. So without government intervention, Danish property owners would have been allowed to raise rents by almost 10 percent. The 4 percent maximum cap applies to existing and new leases, but also to rents that have been increased above the 4 percent in recent months—those must be reduced again.
“It is crucial for the Danish government to take care of Danish tenants. They should not be forced out of their homes and apartments because of rampant inflation,” Interior and Housing Minister Christian Rabjerg Madsen said in a statement.
Madsen’s ministry presented the law limiting rent increases in September. The Danish government is also working on a new law on rent adjustment from 2025, because even then rents will no longer be able to be increased automatically by inflation.
Rents rise by 8.6 percent in Austria
In Austria, too, there is a discussion about a cap on rent increases: for almost 400,000 leases, rents will rise by 8.6 percent in April 2023 – after rent increases last year of over 6 percent. The reason is the automatic increase in rent by inflation (the “consumer price index”) stipulated in the law. In January, the Social Democrats in the National Council propose that the rent increase be completely suspended until 2025 and then capped at two percent.
Property owners are naturally opposed to this, saying that they would then lack the money to maintain the buildings. The Danish government met this objection: If property owners can prove large investments that are not covered by current rents, they can raise rents above 4 percent in exceptional cases. Landlords are not happy about this either and complain about the bureaucratic effort. Experts assume that this very rarely apply to any case.
All in all, according to the government’s calculations, Danes will save 2.7 billion Danish kroner (about 360 million euros) in additional rental costs. Denmark’s inflation rate reached 10.1% in October, its highest level in four decades, but has since fallen to 8.7%. Rent caps also exist in Spain, Portugal, Scotland, and France.
This work is licensed under the Creative Common License. It can be republished for free, either translated or in the original language. In both cases, please cite / Kontrast Redaktion as the original source/author and set a link to this article on Scoop.me. https://scoop.me/rent-cap-denmark/
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EU to severely restrict export of waste to third countries

Publicerad denFörfattareKontrast.at

The European Parliament voted in favor of a law that restricts the export of waste. Waste from the EU should be processed in an environmentally friendly way—and no longer exported on a large scale to third countries in the EU. There, it often pollutes entire regions via landfills or is incinerated and damages the environment.
On January 17, 2023, the European Parliament voted in Strasbourg in favor of a law that restricts the export of waste from the EU to countries outside the Union. The goal is to reduce pollution and ensure that materials like plastic are reused and recycled instead of thrown away. The whole thing is part of the European Green Deal.
In the future, waste is to be exported only to certain countries outside the OECD area—and they must prove that they process the waste in an environmentally friendly way. For hazardous waste, exports are to be banned altogether. Overall, less waste is to be shipped around the world and less processed in a way that is harmful to the climate, for example incinerated.
“Out of sight, out of mind: this is how we in the EU currently deal with our mountains of waste. In doing so, we not only export our problem, but also leave the task of fair disposal to countries outside the EU. The consequences of this are often illegal landfills, the price of which is paid by the environment and local people,” criticizes Delara Burkhardt, environmental policy spokeswoman for the Socialist S&D Group in the EU Parliament. So now that is to change.
The Parliament’s report on the EU Waste Shipment Regulation was adopted by a large majority: 594 votes in favor, 5 against and 43 abstentions. Talks between the European Parliament and EU member states are to take place this year to finalize the text. Only then can the law come into force.
Most EU waste ends up in Turkey
The amount of waste exchanged around the world is steadily increasing, with 182 million tons traded in 2018, according to the OECD. The European Union plays a central role in this: according to Eurostat, the European Union exported 33 million tons of waste to non-EU countries in 2021. That’s a 77 percent increase over 2004, and Turkey was the main destination for EU waste last year, with about 14.7 million tons—three times as much as in 2004.
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The second-highest amount of EU waste was exported to India this year—about 2.4 million tons. The countries behind are Egypt and Switzerland, with 1.9 and 1.7 million tons, respectively. Eurostat reports that the amount of waste shipped from the EU to China has decreased significantly in recent years. Namely, from a peak of 10.1 million tons in 2009 to 0.4 million tons in 2021.
The EU-Parliament also agreed on a new directive to give platform workers more rights. Including minimum wage, social security and paid vacation. As well as on a new pay transparency directive to end the pay gap between men and women.
This work is licensed under the Creative Common License. It can be republished for free, either translated or in the original language. In both cases, please cite / Kathrin Glösel as the original source/author and set a link to this article on Scoop.me. https://scoop.me/eu-restrict-waste-exports/
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England bans single-use plastic products and packaging

Publicerad denFörfattareIngo Geiger

England bans single-use plastic products. From October, plastic tableware, Styrofoam cups and certain food packaging may no longer be sold or used. This excludes packaging for ready meals. The ban applies to retail and food retailers, as well as snack bars and restaurants. Environmental organizations criticize this as insufficient. 
It is estimated that 2.7 billion disposable knives, forks, cups, and plates are used in England every year. Most of them are made of plastic. If they were strung together, they would go around the world more than 8 times. The big problem: Just 10 percent of them are recycled. Thérèse Coffey, Secretary of State for Environment, has now announced a ban on single-use plastic products. It will apply from October. 
Ban on plastic plates, cups, cutlery and certain packaging
From October 2023, single-use plastic plates, cups, cutlery, bowls and trays will be banned. The same applies to polystyrene cups (e.g., from vending machines) and certain food packaging. Packaging for ready meals is exempt. In the future, these products may then neither be sold nor used in retail outlets, snack bars or restaurants.
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Greenpeace criticizes the exemptions and calls the ban insufficient. The organization A Plastik Planet is also calling for further measures. Above all, they want a ban on the small plastic bags for mini-portions such as ketchup, soy sauce or cosmetic products. 

Check out A Plastic Planet’s co-founder, @siansutherland, speaking on Sky News this morning on the announcement of England’s new plastic bans.
Sian says, “Finally, the government is enacting this ban but imagine if we went further and changed the system not just the material.” pic.twitter.com/9JTrr18mKP
— A Plastic Planet (@aplastic_planet) January 14, 2023

Single-use plastic products: EU bans production—manufacturers must pay for cleaning
The European Union already enacted a similar ban in 2019. It bans the production of single-use plastic products such as plastic straws, cotton swabs and balloon sticks. Fast-food packaging made of Styrofoam is also banned. 
According to the directive on avoiding single-use plastic products, all plastic bottles must also be made of at least 30 percent recycled material from 2023. In addition, disposable products that are particularly harmful to the environment (cigarette filters, balloons, and hygiene products with plastic content) must be labeled.
The ban puts the onus on producers, as manufacturers of plastic products such as cigarette filters, fishing nets and plastic bags must now contribute to the costs of environmental cleaning. 
The directive aims to combat pollution of the environment and, above all, pollution of the ocean. 
Every minute, a truckload of plastic enters the sea
Products made of plastic are extremely long-lasting, degrade very slowly and mostly incompletely. They often end up as microplastics in the oceans. If there is no change in the way we handle single-use plastic products, there will be more than 12 billion tons of plastic in the environment by 2050, according to the UN. 
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Environmental organizations like Green Peace estimate that a truckload of plastic ends up in the ocean every minute. Much of this is single-use plastic products. If this continues, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea by 2030.  Läs mer…

EU: Companies with more than 100 employees must disclose wages to make pay gaps visible

Publicerad denFörfattareIngo Geiger

The European Council, the Commission and the Parliament have agreed on the main points of the new EU Pay Transparency Directive. The directive aims to end the pay gap between women and men. In the future, companies with more than 100 employees will have to publish average salaries for the same work or work of equal value. Gender pay gaps must be eliminated in cooperation with social partners. Otherwise, there is a threat of fines. 
“Today is a good day, not just for women, but for all workers,” says Evelyn Regner, vice president of the EU Parliament. She has fought for years for the EU directive for pay transparency. In December, the European Council, the EU Commission and the Parliament have now agreed on the most important points of the directive. An essential step, because in Europe, women still earn on average 14 percent less than men in comparable positions. 
Employees gain insight into wage levels
Above all, a lack of transparency makes it difficult to reduce the gender pay gap. It is considered one of the main obstacles. The new directive aims to change that. In the future, all employees of a company will be able to see the wage structures of their colleagues—at least for people who do the same or comparable work. It does not matter how large a company is. 
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Information about individual wages or the average wage for the same or comparable work forms the basis for fair pay regardless of gender. After all, this is the only way to make discriminatory wage differences visible and correct them through complaints or legal action. 
“With the new law, we have made good progress towards reducing the gender pay gap and ensuring that all employees in Europe receive the same pay for the same work or work of equal value” Evelyn Regner, Vice President of the EU Parliament. 
Companies must disclose any wage differentials between male and female employees
Companies with more than 100 employees must make wage structures publicly available and report them to a monitoring body. It must be made clear whether there are differences or pay gaps between the sexes. 
If the wage gap exceeds 5 percent, the company must develop and implement measures in cooperation with the social partners (e.g., employee representatives, trade unions). However, only if the difference cannot be attributed to objective factors. 
The disclosed data will make cross-industry comparisons possible. This will make the full extent of wage inequality (even) more visible. This will also increase awareness of the problem for employers and employees. 
Penalties and sanctions for violating the EU Pay Transparency Directive
The directive places greater responsibility on individual companies and EU member states. They must publish wage data, make it available to the public and the workforce, and report it to a monitoring body. In the event of violations, the companies concerned face fines. These are to be set and enforced by the member states. 
The newly gained transparency gives employees the opportunity to stand up for their rights from the outset. Companies that pay women and men unequally will have a harder time in the future. 
HR managers are no longer allowed to ask about applicants’ current salaries.
Wage inequality often begins in the job interview. Applicants are asked about their current salary, which then serves as the starting point for negotiations. This deepens gender pay gaps. With the new directive, HR managers will no longer be allowed to do this.
The EU-Parliament also agreed on a new directive to give platform workers more rights. Including minimum wage, social security and paid vacation. Läs mer…

EU Directive: Minimum wage, social security and paid vacation for platform workers

Publicerad denFörfattareIngo Geiger

Despite massive pressure from platform operators, the EU Parliament agrees on a directive for more rights for platform workers. In principle, they will be considered employees—with all employment and social security rights. That means: minimum wage, paid vacation, social security and benefits in case of illness and unemployment. The directive is set to end the precarious working conditions of platform work, make the algorithms used more transparent and bring 5.5 million people out of bogus self-employment. 
More than 28 million people in the EU currently work for a digital platform. They deliver food for Deliveroo, clean for Helping, or drive for Uber. The European Council expects that number to rise to 43 million by 2025. The vast majority work independently. It is estimated that 5.5 million of them are false self-employed. As a result, they do not receive the social and legal protection to which they are entitled by law. The new directive aims to change that. 
EU-Directive for platform work: More protection and rights for employees
Platform operators like to present themselves as the pioneers of flexible, modern and self-determined work. What sounds good on paper, however, creates precarious working conditions in reality. Almost 5.5 million people in the EU suffer from this. This is because they work as bogus self-employed workers, although according to the definition they should be employees. 
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They have no social security, no sick pay, no paid vacation and no collective bargaining. They struggle with irregular working hours, high workloads and constant availability. Platform operators are the main beneficiaries. 
“Protecting all workers in the digital age should be as easy as ordering food or a cab by smartphone. All employees are entitled to employee and social rights, i.e., fair pay, social security, sick pay and inclusion in collective bargaining. Agnes Jongerius, employment policy spokeswoman of the S&D Group.
With the new Directive on Platform Work, platform workers in principle will be employees—with all employment and social security rights. The burden of proof with regard to employment status will lie with the platforms in the future. This means that platform operators will have to prove that it is not an employment relationship but a self-employed activity.  
Are Platform workers employees?
The EU-Directive formulates control criteria that determine whether a digital work platform is an employer. If two of the following criteria apply, then this is the case:
Criteria that defines digital work platforms as employer

Determination of the amount of remuneration or setting of upper limits for remuneration.
Monitoring of work performance, including by electronic means (e.g., algorithms)
Restriction of the freedom to choose working hours or absences, to accept or decline tasks, or to use the services of subcontractors or substitute employees
Prescribing certain binding rules regarding appearance and behavior toward the recipient of the service or regarding work performance
Restricting the ability to build a customer base or perform work for third parties
If a digital platform is an employer, then the employees are entitled to full employment and social security rights. This includes the minimum wage (if there is one), regulated working hours and health protection, paid vacation, unemployment and sickness benefits, as well as a retirement pension and involvement in collective bargaining.

If a digital platform is an employer, then the employees are entitled to full employment and social security rights. This includes the minimum wage (if there is one), regulated working hours and health protection, paid vacation, unemployment and sickness benefits, as well as a retirement pension and involvement in collective bargaining. 
More algorithmic transparency
Many platform operators use algorithms to organize and control their employees. Yet most algorithms resemble a black box. Decisions they make are not comprehensible to those affected. Who is hired, who is terminated, how is performance evaluated, and who gets new assignments?
The new directive will make these processes more transparent. Employees should also be able to legally challenge automated decisions. In addition, humans will have to monitor the working conditions and not, as in some cases, algorithms. Above all, algorithms should not have access to the sensitive and personal data of employees (gender, origin, political views, trade union membership). 
The directive now comes to vote in trilogue with Council and Commission
A large majority in the relevant committee of the Parliament adopted the text of the directive. It will form the basis for negotiations in the upcoming trilogue with the Council and the EU Commission.  Läs mer…

Gas price brake, rent cap & tax-free food: Spain most successful in fighting inflation in the EU

Publicerad denFörfattareKontrast.at

Spain has the lowest inflation rate in the EU. What are the Spanish under Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez doing differently—and better? First and foremost, gas price caps and the rent brake are curbing prices. Next year, they will go one step further: VAT on basic foodstuffs will fall, making food cheaper in one fell swoop.
Left-ruled Spain now announced, at the end of December, the third major anti-inflation aid package this year to relieve the Spanish population from inflation. This package includes 10 billion euros, bringing the total amount that the government of Pedro Sánchez (of the socialist PSOE) has put in place since the beginning of the year to cushion inflation to 45 billion euros.
First, the aid package includes a one-time payment of 200 euros for about 4.2 million low-income households (up to about 27,000 euros) and an extension of tax cuts on energy bills for the first half of next year. In addition, all pensions are to be increased by 8.5 percent, and particularly low pensions by as much as 15 percent.
Success in Spain: lower electricity prices and the lowest inflation rate in the EU
There has already been direct aid, concessions on loans and price brakes: rents in the country may increase by a maximum of two percent per year. According to Sanchez, the aim is to ensure that aid reaches those who really need it.
In particular, the gas price brake, which Spain and Portugal were the first in Europe to introduce in May, proved to be an effective intervention to curb prices. Compared with November last year, electricity prices fell by over 22 percent. The gas price brake is in place for 12 months and ensures that gas costs a maximum of 50 euros per megawatt hour. By comparison, wholesale gas prices peaked at 1,000 euros per MWh in the summer.
Inflation over the past 12 months slowed to 6.7 percent in November. It is the lowest rate of the 27 EU member states.
Spain has the lowest inflation rate in the EU (photo: Eurostat)
Bread and milk tax-free: Sánchez government will reduce food prices
Currently, food prices are a thorn in the sight of the population, but also of the government. This is because they have risen by 15 percent compared with the fall of last year.
That’s why Spain’s government announced that it will reduce VAT next year on staple foods such as bread, cheese, milk, fruit and vegetables, and cereals from 4 percent to 0 percent. For pasta and cooking oils, the VAT will be cut in half to 5 percent, he said.
Sánchez also said he would extend subsidies for train commuters for another year and further limit rent increases.
However, the reduction in the price of gasoline for consumers:inside, except the transport industry, will be discontinued.
The result of the left-wing government’s policies: economic growth in Spain was more than 5 percent in 2022 and therefore even exceeded government forecasts. The country will be able to avoid a recession next year.
This work is licensed under the Creative Common License. It can be republished for free, either translated or in the original language. In both cases, please cite / Kathrin Glösel as the original source/author and set a link to this article on Scoop.me. https://scoop.me/spain-inflation/
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