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The EU has confirmed that prices, not wages, drive inflation.
The European Commission supported the position of the unions that the growth of prices, especially of energy, is the primary driver of inflation, and not the increase of salaries.
SSM together with 138,000 workers in the public sector has been on a general strike since 22.06.2022 precisely to increase the wages of workers in the public sector, and in the past period, among other things, we have heard excuses from government representatives that if wages are increased, they will contribute to an increase in inflation, which has been confirmed as a false thesis by the European Commission.
We remind the Government that our fraternal trade unions, the European and International Confederation of Trade Unions with their 250 million members, stand behind the SSM and the demands of the workers and that it is obliged to respect the position of the European Commission and should immediately accept the existential demand of the workers and the SSM for signing of the General Collective Agreement for the public sector and to immediately increase, i.e. harmonize, the salaries of the workers in the public sector by 2806 denars in accordance with the increase of the minimum wage and to bear in mind that European values are shown in deeds, not in words.
In the summer economic forecast of the European Commission, it was confirmed that the Russian invasion of Ukraine exerted additional pressure on the growth of energy and food prices, which reduced the purchasing power of citizens.
Dependence on Russian fossil fuels makes the European Union economy particularly vulnerable, and while economic activity is expected to decline for the rest of the year, the EU economy will expand, but at a much slower pace than expected in the spring 2022 forecast.
This comes after the European Central Bank confirmed that "many firms could expand their profits, often implying that consumers, rather than shareholders, bore the brunt of the inflationary shock". Eurostat figures also show that European companies have increased their share of profits since the start of the pandemic.
The European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC asks the European authorities to consider the following policies as a priority:
• Additional taxation of profits, especially when talking about large energy companies. The union's view is that the proceeds should be used to alleviate growing inequalities and create quality jobs by investing in a just transition to a green economy.
• Increase statutory minimum wages, in countries where such laws exist, and re-initiate collective bargaining, particularly at the sectoral level, to ensure equitable wage growth.
• Refinancing and extension of the EU emergency support mechanism for SURE to stabilize the economy and protect jobs.
Liina Carr, secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation - ETUC, said workers were being made to pay for a crisis they had no part in creating, while CEOs and shareholders added extra zeros to their bank accounts. Corporations have dealt workers a double whammy - the value of their wages has been decimated, while at the same time they are expected to pay higher prices for everyday necessities.
https://www.etuc.org/en/pressrelease/eu-confirms-prices-not-wages-drivin...
