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09-Apr-08 10:15 [Europe, Middle East and Africa]
German cabinet backs pension increases The German cabinet has backed plans to raise state pensions by 1.1 per cent this year and by two per cent in 2009.
Employers have reacted angrily to the proposals, saying the rise will result in jobs being cut.
Dieter Hundt, president of Germany's employers' federation (BDA), said: "The consequence of this will be higher staffing costs for employers and less money in the pockets of workers, That's going to hit employment."
The increase is planned for 1st July and according to the Ministry for Labour and Social Affairs, it will mean older generation can feel the benefits of the economic boom in the country.
A decision on the proposed rise in 2009 will not be made until next spring, although the proposals have been slated by economists because they go against the restrictions on pension increases put in place by the previous chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.
In other news, a gay man in Germany recently won the right to his dead partner's pension following a European court of justice ruling.
Pensioners in Australia have backed calls by the country's Green party to raise the single age pension to higher than the twice-yearly average as decided by the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
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A plan by the government to increase the number of workers in occupational pension schemes could result in existing retirement provision facing cuts, it has emerged.
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The Sellafield nuclear reprocessing plant in Cumbria is to lose just over a tenth of its workforce after it was announced that members of Unite would go on strike.
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