Algerians live on through “credits “, says a UGTA study

A senior Trade unionist Abdelkader Malki told Echorouk newspaper that the UGTA workers' Union had drafted a blueprint on the whys and wherefores of the harsh erosion of the Algerian citizens' purchasing power following the steady rise over the last few months of most staple commodities and green vegetables on the volatile national market.

He indicated, in this respect, that the newly devised blueprint would be conveyed to the government on the occasion of a 3-day UGTA conference slated to be held on March 29, 2008.

According to the UGTA document, the prices of essential products like foodstuffs, fruits, vegetables and pharmaceuticals have witnessed a 40% hike between the first semester of 2007 and the first three months of 2008.

The same sources added that the ball is now in the government’s court stressing that the executive branch should take urgent steps to address the purchasing power crisis in the country, notably by considering a significant salary increase for the benefit of workers in all sectors of activity.

They suggested that the bona-fide blueprint worked out by the UGTA workers’ union, highlighting the citizens’ social concerns, should be taken into account in the government’s future action plan.