UGT calls for limiting business margins and reinforcing salary growth

The union demands measures that favor competition in markets where "oligopolistic practices" prevail

MADRID, 13 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The General Union of Workers (UGT) has reacted to the data on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) made public this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE) and has requested the implementation of measures that limit the "disproportionate increase" of business margins and guarantee fair prices.

Likewise, the union has demanded measures that favor competition in those markets where "oligopolistic practices" prevail. It has also requested the approval of exceptional measures to help combat the notable increase in the cost of variable rate mortgages. "As a country we cannot afford a new wave of evictions," the union said in a statement.

On the other hand, it has defended the maintenance of all the extraordinary measures in force to reduce household electricity and gas bills or, where appropriate, their replacement by more efficient and fair ones, until there is greater moderation in the price of electricity. the raw materials that feed them (oil, gas) and the uncertainty of the international panorama, aggravated by the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East, is cleared up.

UGT points out that the withdrawal of this aid, in the current context and with the arrival of winter, would cause a "dramatic" situation in thousands of low- and middle-income households.

In addition, the union demands to reinforce the path of salary growth. "The V Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC) is already generating the desired effects: this year 801 agreements have been signed with an average salary increase of 4.3%, above the average inflation rate (3, 6%), which allows more than 2.6 million workers to already be recovering purchasing power," he detailed.

However, he has also stressed that there is still enough room to extend these salary increases to the entire working population, since only in this way will it be possible to consolidate a robust and equitable growth model.

The CPI increased by 0.2% in September in relation to the previous month and increased its interannual rate by nine tenths, up to 3.5%, mainly due to the increase in the prices of electricity and fuels and lubricants for personal vehicles, as announced this Friday by the INE.