| Discover Algeria | About us | Press area | Contact |
-
Legal INVEST
Les derniers textes juridiques
View more
Les interviews By AlgeriaInvest
Newsletter
Subscribe to the economic newsletter
- News
NEW NEWS
- Our Services
- News
September 10, 2024 | 1 year ago
Improving purchasing power: UGTA proposals
Preserving and improving purchasing power is one of the issues that concerns both workers and the government. Measures have been taken in this direction, at the initiative of the President of the Republic, during the last four years, by increasing the SNMG and exemptions from IRG on salary.
However, these gains have been undermined by inflation, which, despite its decline since the beginning of the year, remains high. Therefore, much work remains to be done in this area, to preserve the purchasing power of households. A question which is, moreover, at the centre of the program of the President of the Republic proposed for his second term. New measures are therefore expected over the coming years (2024-2029), including salaries which are expected to double. On this issue, the social partner, in this case, the General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA) has put forward its proposals. Indeed, his SG Amar Takdjout considered it necessary to review the SNMG, even if mechanisms have been put in place by the government to try to regulate the market. This, he will say, will allow the evolution of salaries and low salaries, much more small pensions. But once again, he asserts, wages can only find an important place with the growth and diversification of the national economy. Speaking during his appearance on national radio « Chaîne III», the SG of the UGTA stressed that we will have to pull out all the stops on the economy, by putting in place support mechanisms for businesses of both sectors (public and private), while freeing public companies to go further, to work with serenity and confidence. Incidentally, the speaker recalled the difficult situation in the country, which President Tebboune had inherited during the previous mandate. “The President of the Republic inherited a damaged country, a country traumatized by the political crisis and the pandemic. And today, we are moving forward, we are moving forward slowly, but surely. We will have to continue to create this economic space, this creation of wealth so that we can once again seriously discuss purchasing power», he underlines, considering it necessary to scientifically define purchasing power.
Need to regulate the rental market in his speech, Amar Takdjout deplored the fact that renting accommodation in Algeria exceeds 3 times the salary of a civil servant, while elsewhere, it does not exceed 30%. This is why we must regulate the housing rental market.
Despite the various programs dedicated to housing and the construction of thousands of housing units, the crisis persists and rental market prices are not falling. The preservation of purchasing power is a whole and efforts must be made in different areas and not only in the regulation of food prices. In defining purchasing power, it is important to know the share of rent, the share of food and the share of leisure.
« If we work, have a salary but no leisure, we have nothing. This means that salary must mean something», he says.
The revaluation of purchasing power cannot happen without involving workers in wealth creation. « Today the boss needs to stop pretending and the workers need to stop pretending to work. Everyone must seriously get to work to create wealth which consequently improves the standard of living », he says, explaining that increasing wages without creating wealth «also means creating inflation that will stifle purchasing power ».
Pleading for branch agreements, he suggests that « the union initiate discussions with these employers' organizations to establish these branch employers' confederations and arrive at the necessary branch agreements without which we come up against economic dumping ».
Without these conventions, « we risk never organizing our economy and without branch employers' federations, we will never have an economic mapping of the country », he warns, stating that « this mapping will not be done by digitalization only but also by organizing branches». Unlike employers, he announces that at the level of UGTA, « this branch mapping is already done », calling for « a union-employer dialogue» to establish conventions necessary to improve purchasing power.
For memorization of the IRG at 10% for retirees
Concerning the question of revising the IRG, the boss of the UGTA also pleaded for the revision of this salary tax, particularly for retirees.
Indeed, «it is inconceivable to make retirees pay IRG in the same way as the employee. It is considered double taxation, a double penalty», he indicates, pleading for a symbolic IRG rate of 10% for retirees. « The suggestions are simple, I asked that we all tax.
October 7, 2024 | 
Popular Articles
