People working in countries in the east of the EU earn well under half of the average wage of people in the western, pre-2004 EU15 according to research published today.
Workers in 10 east EU countries earn between 42% of west EU wages (in Estonia) to under 18% (in Bulgaria). Only in Slovenia do working people earn more than half, with wages at 60% of the EU 15 average.
The east-west EU wage gap was getting smaller through the late 1990s and much of 2000s, but progress stopped in the 2008 economic crisis.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) condemns the terrorist attacks that took place on Thursday, 17 August, on La Rambla de Barcelona - one of the most popular and visited streets in Europe at this year time – and in Cambrils.
We express our solidarity to the victims and relatives, people of Barcelona and Spain as well as our Spanish trade union members.
The ETUC stands with all workers of security forces, transport, social and health services which have attended to the victims of these cruel attacks with professionalism and care.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has written to the President of Kazakhstan and the EU’s Foreign Affairs Representative demanding justice for Larisa Kharkova, a leader of the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Kazakhstan, who was sentenced in late July to 100 hours of forced labour, four years restriction on her freedom of movement and a five-year ban on holding any position in a public or non-governmental organization.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) will have a meeting with the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, on Friday 21 July at 11am at the Elysée Palace.
Leading the ETUC delegation will be ETUC General Secretary Luca Visentini, who will be accompanied by ETUC Confederal Secretary Thiébaut Weber and the Secretary Generals of the five French trade unions affiliated to the ETUC: Laurent Berger (CFDT), Philippe Martinez (CGT), Jean-Claude Mailly (FO), Philippe Louis (CFTC), Luc Bérille (UNSA).
The European Court of Justice judgment on 18 July stating that German law on employee participation is compatible with EU law highlights the fact that provision for workers on company boards “has not been harmonised or even coordinated” at EU level.
The reduction of the minimum wage for workers under 25 – as part of the austerity programme imposed on Greece by the EU and other creditors – has been condemned as “excessive”, and “discrimination on grounds of age”, and contrary to the Council of Europe European Social Charter (ESC).
The judgement was delivered by the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), the main monitoring body to the European Social Charter, following a complaint by Greek trade union GSEE and supported by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).
European Parliament votes on new tax transparency rules for large multinationals on July 4.
The ETUC urges MEPs to support the new rules, and get rid of the ‘get out clause’ that would reduce transparency of multinationals.
