(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
The proposal for pension reform has a number of positive features, believes the leader of the Joint Association, Kjell Bjørndalen.
- The reform will, as it is proposed, mean that there will be a better match between what the individual pays in and what the person in question gets out again. The winners are those who work the longest, and among these we find large parts of our members, says Kjell Bjørndalen.
The leader of the Commonwealth is pleased that the reform will give a handshake to those who have no occupational pension scheme, but must live only by the national insurance benefits when they become pensioners.
- I see it as very positive that there is some majority that will ensure a mandatory occupational pension from the age of 62 – in addition to the National Insurance, says Kjell Bjørndalen. He would have liked to have seen that the minority's proposal for compulsory occupational pension won out, but if that is not possible, the majority's proposal is to live with it.
Fellesforbundet's leader is generally positive about the pension reform: – Most of the system restructuring contained in the proposal is good, but we would have liked to have seen that the level of reduction in pensions was not as strong as proposed. People should be able to retire earlier without being punished as severely as the commission proposes, says Kjell Bjørndalen.
Revenues
One of the elements that Bjørndalen is less satisfied with is that those who go unemployed or take further education should still lose their pension points. The leader of the Joint Federation wants to do something about it.
- We believe that the income base you have when you become unemployed – or must further your education – should apply. This means that people maintain a higher income base when the pension is to be calculated, says Kjell Bjørndalen.
Today, unemployment benefits are the basis for the period when people are unemployed or continue their education. With the requirements of the Joint Confederation, it will be the salary that the employee had when she or he went into unemployment or further education as the basis.
The members of the Commonwealth are not usually career people in search of new and better paid jobs. There are workers who have a good stable job throughout their professional career. The level of salaries for these is stable and increases steadily in relation to the changes in society.
rallying
Kjell Bjørndalen does not believe that the pension debate will divide the trade union movement.
- At our last central national meeting, we adopted the framework for our demands in the pension issue. There was broad agreement on these decisions in LO.
At the same time, Bjørndalen points out that each trade union has its own view of society and must fight for its members.
For Fellesforbundet, it is important to speed up the pension case, and they want it approved by the Storting as soon as possible. Many of the members of the union have a service pension that is small and poor.
- The pension should be a priority issue for the unions. For us, it is important to make changes as quickly as possible.
He would like to see the reform adopted before the parliamentary elections in 2005, but realizes that it is hardly possible to implement everything before that time.
- The most important thing is to get started, and the pension reform should in any case be part of the election campaign. This is a very important issue for the whole society, says Kjell Bjørndalen.
Fight until spring
The pension reform will also be an important part of the wage settlement in the spring. Kjell Bjørndalen says that it is likely that pensions will be a central theme in the wage settlement. Fellesforbundet has had the pension claim on its claim lists since 1998.
- Our goal is for pensions to become a permanent part of the collective bargaining negotiations in the future. It is a way to ensure that the pension comes within an orderly framework, so that people do not end up as minimum pensioners despite having been working for many decades, says Bjørndalen.
