UGT expects inflation to rise progressively in the second half of the year and asks to limit benefits

MADRID, 11 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The General Union of Workers (UGT) forecasts that the general price rate will increase progressively in the second half of the year, after it rose again by four tenths in July, up to 2.3%, breaking with the path of moderation observed in recent months.

"The benefits reaped by a part of the business fabric must be limited, guaranteeing affordable and fair prices for the working class," the union claimed after knowing the final data confirmed by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

For its part, the core rate, which reflects the inflation of the structural component, increased 3 tenths with respect to the previous month, reaching an annual variation of 6.2%, that is, 3.9 points more than the general rate.

"This gap demonstrates how companies have transferred inflationary pressures to other basic products, such as food, which have become more expensive by more than 10% annually for 16 consecutive months," denounced the union.

For UGT, these data show the lack of competition in key sectors such as food distribution, where a "few supermarkets" have enough power to maintain high prices to the detriment of the general interest.

For this reason, as was already done in the energy sector through the Iberian exception, the union considers that it is necessary to deploy measures that limit the benefits reaped by a part of the business fabric, guaranteeing affordable and fair prices for the working class.

On the other hand, UGT has urged to continue influencing the growth of wages, since it is "essential both to guarantee the recovery of the purchasing power of working people and to feed back the process of job creation and economic growth in the country" .

In this sense, the union has pointed out that although the wages agreed in the agreement have increased, on average, by 3.4% so far this year, standing above general inflation, progress must still be made until reaching the endorsed in the V Agreement for Employment and Collective Bargaining (AENC), which for this year establishes a 4% increase with a review clause of an additional 1%.

Lastly, the UGT has denounced the "failed strategy" carried out by the ECB, which on July 27 announced the ninth rise in interest rates since the war in Ukraine began. Thus, with the increase of 25 basis points, a value of 4.25% is reached, equaling the rate registered during the outbreak of the financial crisis, in July 2008.

"The continued tightening of monetary policy is not only proving ineffective in containing inflation in the euro area, but it is also weighing on economic activity and endangering the thousands of households who cannot cope with the excessively high prices of mortgages, which demands the approval of a bailout fund to prevent a new wave of evictions in our country," he criticized.