EUROPE NEEDS A PAY RISE

Among the reasons ETUC believes workers need a pay rise is that it would boost the European economy: the increasing of the purchasing power would lead to growth, investments and jobs.

This topic is even more important as Europe is experiencing a working boom. The 2017 European commission edition of yearly Employment and Social Developments in Europe (ESDE) review shows that in the first quarter of the year, 234.2 million people were in employment in the EU. The employment rate has exceeded the pre-crisis level and is now the highest one ever recorded.

Regarding those records union trades consider that workers’ wallet should also get benefit from this growth.

ETUC campaign aims to highlight the many pay injustices that need to be undertaken through pay rises: gender pay gaps, unpaid and badly paid work of young people, too low minimum wages, and the pay gap between low wage countries and better wage countries within the EU.

Governments are called out as they would play a major role in the European pay rise by helping creating a more favorable environment for collective bargaining, supporting rise friendly policies, extending collective bargaining to more workers and ensuring minimum wages are not less than 60% of the average wage.