Before the health crisis, membership of the country's trade unions was not on the up and up. But since the advent of covid and the deterioration of the economy, membership has increased. "We have indeed seen a very strong increase in the number of our members and this has even exceeded our forecasts," said on the sidelines of the OGBL's national committee, which intends to put a little more pressure on the government in the weeks and months to come.
There is no shortage of sticking points, ranging from the housingproblem to the "disappointment" of family allowance reform, not to mention the need for tax reform, questions about research funding, the health system, the need for pension reform, the worrying situation in the steel sector with the difficulties of Liberty Steel and the increase in social inequalities,.
If implementing a fairer housing policy is politically complicated, then don't get involved.
"It's always very complicated to prioritise. There are so many issues we are working on. Prioritising is mission impossible. The watchword in the national committee is to learn from this crisis. To invest in what is important, such as public services and research, and not to pursue a policy of austerity. And on the other hand, to make this world a little fairer, in particular through a necessary tax reform", Back stressed.
In any case, the OGBL president intends to keep a close eye on housing. "I quote the prime minister in a recent : 'Personally, I am, for example, very much in favour of a tax on empty houses. If someone wants to keep a building plot empty, then tax it. If a house is empty because the owner wants to make money, we tax it. Believe me, we would suddenly have a lot of occupied housing and used land overnight!' Well, why doesn't the prime minister do it if he thinks so?" sighed Nora Back.
"Housing policy is made in favour of real estate lobbyists. This is obvious. It's not even the politicians who decide anymore, but the big investors who come from abroad and speculate with the land as if it were endlessly reproducible. If implementing a fairer housing policy is politically complicated, then one should not get involved. You become a politician to change things or you say to yourself that it is not possible, because it goes against your voters, but in this case, you don't say such a thing", Back lamented.
Tax reform, a necessity for the OGBL
Another subject that will be highlighted by the OGBL in the coming weeks is the desire to implement a tax reform. Xavier Bettel (DP) has already dismissed this as necessary, but not indispensable for the moment.
"Why is this tax reform so unfeasible? It is not unfeasible and it is even necessary to do it to prepare for the future. How can they say, while in government, that this tax reform is not written into the electoral programme? But the health crisis is not written into the electoral programme either. We don't know what the future will be like. And if the financial situation will be catastrophic next year, the government will have to raise tax revenue, and we know exactly where this will come from. Certainly not on the backs of the big guys. The little people already paid [for the financial crisis] in 2008. If tax revenue has to be raised quickly, we know where to look, at the winners", said Nora Back.