Trade union federation CNV, the second biggest in the country, has given up its opposition to the government’s planned increase in the state pension age, according to sources quoted in several newspapers on Wednesday.

The government wants to raise the state pension age from 65 to 67 in an effort to get government finances under control – a move which all the unions had opposed until now.
The sources say the federation has decided to agree to the increase because the alternatives being looked at do not work. Unions and employers have been given until October 1 to come up with another way of boosting government funds.
However, the union does plan to campaign for improvements to the position of people faced with working longer and to try to stimulate older workers to stay on the job, sources told BNR radio. Just one in five people aged over 60 are still in work.