While many workers are away enjoying time off with friends and family, millions are missing out because of low pay. “A holiday should not be a luxury for the few. The ETUC is working with MEPs to introduce a ‘threshold of decency’ into the legislation that would ensure statutory minimum wages could never be paid at less than 60% of the median wage and 50% of the average wage of any member state, delivering a pay rise to over 24 million people.ĮTUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said: The ETUC is highlighting holiday inequality as part of its efforts to strengthen the EU’s draft directive on adequate minimum wages and collective bargaining, which will be considered by the European Parliament after summer. See table 2 for details of all countries. The biggest increases in the divide were seen in: Romania (+17pp), Slovakia (+14pp), Croatia (+13.8pp), Lithuania (+8.3pp) and Hungary (+7.9pp). The biggest divides in access to holidays between the two groups are found in: Croatia (43.2pp), Greece (43pp), Bulgaria (42.4pp), Czechia (41.1pp), France (40.4pp) and Romania (40.1pp). This 40.1 percentage points (pp) gap has grown by 17.1 pp since 2010. For example, in Romania, 86.8% of people living at risk of poverty couldn’t afford a break compared to 46.7% of those with incomes above 60% of the median. Statutory minimum wages leave workers at risk of poverty in at least 16 EU member states and, according to the European Commission, 22 million workers make less than 60% of the median.Īn analysis of Eurostat data by the ETUC and ETUI found holiday inequality has grown in 16 member states over the last decade between those with income below 60% of median and those with income above that threshold. Many Europeans whose income is below 60% of the median are unemployed or retired, but this group also includes millions of low paid workers, particularly those earning the statutory minimum wage. Italy has the highest number of people in this category with 7 million, followed by Spain (4.7m), Germany (4,3m), France (3.6m) and Poland (3.1m). The worst situation is in Greece where 88.9% of people living at risk of poverty couldn’t afford a break, followed by Romania (86.8%), Croatia (84.7%), Cyprus (79.2%) and Slovakia (76.1%). Overall, 28% of EU citizens can’t afford a one week holiday away from home – but that rises to 59.5 for people whose income is below the at-risk-of-poverty threshold (60% of the median). While access to holidays has grown over the last decade, the majority of low income families remain excluded. Workers receiving poverty-level pay are among 35 million of the poorest Europeans who can’t afford a summer holiday, ETUC research has found amid the campaign to strengthen the EU’s wages directive.
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