A pan-union meeting has been scheduled for Wednesday, September 24, on the issue of the ATA. At the same time, the executive committees of the OEB and CCCI will hold a joint meeting on October 2 to coordinate on the same issue, as well as on other issues of concern to the business world. However, as they told CNA, so far the two sides have not received an invitation from the Ministry of Labor to hold a new meeting on the ATA.
Speaking to CNA, SEK Secretary General Andreas Matsas said that a new pan-union conference has been set for next Wednesday, September 24, at 10 a.m. at the SEK building.
"We will inform the other organizations about the developments and the data will be evaluated," he said. Asked if there is an intention to decide to extend the measures, he left the possibility open. "It is possible that decisions will be made that lead to an extension or culmination of the measures," he said.
Mr. Matsas noted that so far the trade unions have not received a new invitation from the Minister of Labor for a new meeting on the issue. It is recalled that a meeting had taken place the previous week and a second meeting was expected to be scheduled. "As things develop, the whole process becomes even more difficult. If we have an invitation from the Minister, we will respond," he said.
Employer coordination
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since XNUMX and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from XNUMX-XNUMX. In XNUMX–XNUMX she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
A joint meeting has also been scheduled for employers' organizations. Speaking to CNA, OEB DG Michalis Antoniou avoided the term "pan-employer" meeting, as, as he said, such a thing refers to a "warlike atmosphere that has no relation to the intentions or the way the two organizations operate."
"We judged at the highest level that a joint session is needed for better coordination, mutual information and decision-making in principle, on key issues that concern the business community, as there are already uniform approaches," he said.
As he mentioned, the issue of the ATA is paramount, due to its topicality. However, tax reform and pension system reform are also expected to be discussed, issues that he described as "of fundamental importance" for business.
The joint meeting will take the form of a joint session of the executive committees of the two organizations. He himself does not recall anything similar having happened before, but noted his intention to propose institutionalizing the meeting once a year or every six months.
"There is a well-established relationship and coordination that can take a form on which we will build in the future," he said, noting that the two organizations serve the same goals, "the good of businesses, the economy, competitiveness, healthy public finances."
Regarding the issue of ATA, Mr. Antoniou told CNA that the employers' side has not received an invitation from the Ministry for a new meeting. He stressed, however, that the issue of "ATA for all" is off the table for them. Citing courtesy and respect for institutions, the DG of OEB said that "there is no precedent for us to refuse a meeting upon invitation", noting, however, that the two employers' organizations are committed to the issue of "ATA for all" being off the table.
Asked about the remaining points of the Minister of Labor's framework, which concern its graduated performance, the connection to competitiveness and inflation controls, Mr. Antoniou said that these parameters, along with the household basket, are the ones on which throughout the previous period "we have been doing simulation exercises, formulas, models, changing the figures to produce a result that maintains the burden rate at the existing commitments and levels". As he underlined, "we believe that there is also the solution to the problem for our own aspirations", noting that probably when the figures are specified "we will have disagreements with our partners".
Mr. Antoniou added that the views of employers' organizations on the ATA have never changed. "It is a pathology that affects competitiveness in open economies," he said, noting that this view is "documented, proven and adopted by almost all European states." He added that the effort to rationalize this system cannot be an argument for transferring "something that is a pathology to a larger number," because its mode of operation has been rationalized for those who implement it.
He expressed, however, optimism that there is scope for convergence among the social partners and said that employer organizations are reaching out to all sides, trade unions and the Government.
Source: KYPE
