Trade unions are calling on governments to impose a windfall tax on banks making huge profits on the back of interest rate rises.
The European Central Bank announced today it is maintaining interest rates at their highest level since the creation of the Euro following 10 consecutive increases over the past year.
As a result, European banks are making huge profits and increasing dividend payments to shareholders.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“It’s clear for all to see that the impact on workers of raising interest rates to record levels has been profoundly unjust and economically counter-productive.
“People who have to borrow to buy a car to get to work, put a roof over their head, or, as is increasingly the case, simply meet their monthly bills, are being made to pay increasingly unreasonable rates of interest.
“And that money is going directly into the pockets of the already wealthy CEOs and shareholders of major banks.
“Higher borrowing costs are also contributing to more businesses going bankrupt, which means fewer jobs, and falling private investment at a time when investment needs to be massively scaled up to transition to a green and digital economy.
"We need to stop the unethical consequences of this crisis by extending windfall taxes to banks and all other sectors and companies making these windfall profits.”
