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Union chief avoids sack

Wanja Lundby-Wedin is to remain in her post as head of Sweden’s Trade Union Confederation (LO), but will endure a pay cut of around 40 percent.

Published: 7 April 2009 07:04 CEST
Union chief avoids sack

The announcement was made after after a seven hour board meeting on Monday and despite opposition from several of the LO federations.

The extraordinary board meeting was convened at midday on Monday in the LO stronghold on Norra Bantorget in Stockholm and assembled representatives from the 15 LO federations.

The meeting was preceded by widespread speculation that the AMF Pension scandal would see an end to Lundby-Wedin’s tenure as head of LO.

The head of the SEKO transport-workers union, Janne Rudén was among those that demanded her resignation.

“We considered this to be the best resolution,” he said to news agency TT.

But he added that at the meeting he was not prepared to challenge a majority decision. According to Janne Rudén he was not alone in opposing Lundby-Wedin.

“I hope that this is the correct decision,” he commented after having ultimately pledged his support for Lundby-Wedin.

The LO head called a press conference for 7.45pm on Monday, flanked by heavyweight union leaders Ylva Thörn and Stefan Löfven.

“There has been a thorough review of a very serious situation,” IF Metall metalworkers union head Stefan Löfven said to the assembled media.

In other words it was not at all assured that Lundby-Wedin would receive the support of the 15 union federations.

According to public employees union head Ylva Thörn, the marathon meeting was necessary to pore over the reactions of LO members and analyze the consequences of the situation.

Social Democrat leader, Mona Sahlin, who on Saturday held Lundby-Wedin’s role in the AMF Pension scandal to blame for the party’s collapse in the opinion polls, welcomed the decision on Monday.

“But it was completely necessary to withdraw from her board memberships and concentrate on her main job,” Sahlin said.

Wanja Lundby-Wedin concedes that the controversy over the AMF Pension scandal has damaged both her and LO.

“The past few weeks have been difficult for the union movement. Of course confidence in me has been damaged among the members.”

Lundby-Wedin promised in the future to focus her energies on core union issues, meet the members, and to scale down her portfolio of prior commitments.

The loss of most of her board memberships will result in an effective pay cut of around 40 percent.

“Don’t feel sorry for me. I will just have to juggle my life around a little. That I do willingly,” Lundby-Wedin said on Monday.

The meeting addressed three core issues: Lundby-Wedin’s post on the board of AMF Pension, her many commitments and former secretary Erland Olausson’s pay and pensions agreements.

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ECONOMY

Pension reform, investment, new jobs – Macron unveils France’s post-Covid recovery plan

French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a series of economic measures, looking beyond the pandemic, although the much-anticipated pensions reform will be delayed until Covid is "under control".

Published: 13 July 2021 11:00 CEST
Pension reform, investment, new jobs - Macron unveils France's post-Covid recovery plan
A nurse watches Macron's TV address on Monday. Photo: JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP.

Obligatory vaccines and the extension of the health pass made the headlines following Macron’s live TV address on Monday evening, but the President also sketched out his vision for France’s post-Covid economy.

Some of the measures he announced represent a return to the priorities he set at the beginning of his tenure, while others have been shaped by the pandemic.

Pension reform

There had been much speculation about a return of controversial plans to reform France’s retirement system, which were shelved at the start of the pandemic.

Macron confirmed that he planned to raise the retirement age – most people can currently retire at 62, but a number of ministers have been pushing to raise the legal minimum to 64.

READ ALSO France to tackle fourth Covid wave with stricter border controls, health passports and compulsory vaccines

“Because we are living longer, we will have to work longer, and retire later,” Macron said. “Not tomorrow, not brutally, and not in a uniform way because we will take the difficulty of a job into consideration.”

The government will begin consultations with workers and employers in September, but “will not undertake the reform so long as the epidemic is not under control and the recovery guaranteed,” Macron said.

This could mean his plans are not implemented before the presidential election in April 2022.

Macron also returned to a controversial point from the 2019 reform plan which lead to widespread protests: the abolition of the country’s 42 different pension regimes, which currently mean many public-sector workers can retire early. Under the new plans, these special regimes will be abolished for new employees, but people currently employed can keep the generous exceptions.

EXPLAINED: What are France’s special pension regimes?

The plan also includes a minimum pension of €1,000 per month after a full career. “A life of work must offer a dignified pension,” Macron said.

Unemployment reform

Changes to unemployment benefits will be “fully implemented” on October 1st. The reform was supposed to come into effect on July 1st, but in June, France’s Council of State decided to suspend certain elements regarding the way benefits are calculated.

“Uncertainties around the economic situation do not allow for implementing, at this moment, these new rules which are meant to support job stability by making benefits less attractive for workers alternating between short contracts and inactivity,” that decision stated.

“In France, you must earn a better living by working than by staying at home, which is currently not always the case,” Macron said on Tuesday.

From September, the government will also launch “a massive plan for the training and retraining of the long-term unemployed”.

“We have seen during this crisis the strength of our social model,” Macron said. “It’s a jewel we need to preserve. This social model rests on one foundation: work.”

Investment plan

During his address, Macron also emphasised the importance of economic sovereignty, and said an investment plan would be unveiled in the autumn following consultations this summer. The objective is “to build the France of 2030”, and to “reindustrialise, reconcile growth with ecological production”.

“We saw during this crisis the consequences of dependence,” Macron said, calling for French and European independence with regards to technology and primary resources.

Last month, the President announced a series of measures designed to stimulate French innovation in healthcare technology.

Support for young and old

Finally, Macron announced additional support for those who have been hardest hit by the pandemic – young people “who sacrificed so much even though there was little risk for themselves”, and elderly people “who more than others feared for their lives”.

In September, the government will unveil a new revenu d’engagement (commitment-based income) for young people not in education, employment or training. This “will be founded on rights and responsibilities”. This could resemble the garantie jeunes, a monthly benefit for 16 to 25-year-olds not in employment or training, created under François Hollande’s government.

For the older generation, Macron avoided specifics. “We owe them a great humanist ambition for independence, strengthened home care, modernised retirement homes,” he said.

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