In practical terms, this means that wages cannot be increased over the period 2013-2014, other than through index corrections and agreed baremic pay scale rises.
It should be underlined that this Royal Degree is applicable as from 2 May 2013 and has therefore no retroactive effect.
The Royal Decree is drawn up in execution of the Salary Moderation Act of 1996, which is seen as a very complex and even incomplete Act. For that reason the government already announced that it would also further modify this Act in order to counter the legal uncertainty that currently exists regarding the application of wage moderation. However, it remains unclear if and when such an initiative will actually be taken.
