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BackThe latest unemployment figures of the European Union reflect the sad impact of the crisis and of European austerity policy. The people concerned living in the southern countries are engaging in mass protests and strikes to draw attention to their desolate situation. There cannot be any doubt that a shift in policy is needed at European level. The Social Compact proposed by the European Trade Union Confederation is a start.
EU unemployment rate has been constantly rising since the beginning of the financial crisis
On 1st October, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, announced the latest unemployment figures for the month of August. It does not come as a surprise that the number of unemployed people in the European Union has risen to 10.5 %; in the Eurozone, 11.4 % of people are without a job. The southern countries are particularly affected, Greece, Portugal and Spain. Considering an unemployment rate of 25 % and youth unemployment, where almost every second young person is out of a job, mass protests in these countries come as little surprise. At an unemployment rate of 4.5 %, Austria belongs to the Member States with the lowest unemployment figures. Nevertheless, youth unemployment in Austria has reached a worrying 9.7 %.
Brutal austerity policy has brutal consequences
Last week, impressive images of protesting crowds at the Syntagma Square in Athens and at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid dominated the media. A general strike was called in Greece and fifty thousand people took to Athens’ streets to demonstrate against the government’s austerity measures. The Union of Salaried Employees and the Public Worker Union had called for the walkout. In Spain too, tens of thousands of people took to the streets and demanded the end of austerity policy and the resignation of the government. Similar demonstrations took place in Portugal. The third mass protest in three weeks not only brought protesters into the streets, but was able to celebrate a success: the government withdrew a heavily criticised austerity measure, i.e. the increase of social contributions accompanied by a reduction of employers’ contributions at the same time.
Ideas for a shift in policy
The constant increase in unemployment figures across Europe and the mass protests in many European countries clearly show the necessity of a shift in European crisis policy. In June 2012, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) adopted a Social Compact with requirements for a social Europe. The ETUC is among other opposed to intervening in collective agreement negotiations, but in favour of decent wages, a Europe wide Youth Guarantee and higher and fairer taxation of assets. Wage formation must “remain a national matter”, says the ETUC. With his demands for a social union with a European system of unemployment insurance, the French finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, is going a step further. The 25.5 million unemployed in Europe are the ones suffering under the crisis – a social Europe is long overdue!
ETUC Resolution. A Social Compact for Europe
On 1st October, Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities, announced the latest unemployment figures for the month of August. It does not come as a surprise that the number of unemployed people in the European Union has risen to 10.5 %; in the Eurozone, 11.4 % of people are without a job. The southern countries are particularly affected, Greece, Portugal and Spain. Considering an unemployment rate of 25 % and youth unemployment, where almost every second young person is out of a job, mass protests in these countries come as little surprise. At an unemployment rate of 4.5 %, Austria belongs to the Member States with the lowest unemployment figures. Nevertheless, youth unemployment in Austria has reached a worrying 9.7 %.
Brutal austerity policy has brutal consequences
Last week, impressive images of protesting crowds at the Syntagma Square in Athens and at the Puerta del Sol in Madrid dominated the media. A general strike was called in Greece and fifty thousand people took to Athens’ streets to demonstrate against the government’s austerity measures. The Union of Salaried Employees and the Public Worker Union had called for the walkout. In Spain too, tens of thousands of people took to the streets and demanded the end of austerity policy and the resignation of the government. Similar demonstrations took place in Portugal. The third mass protest in three weeks not only brought protesters into the streets, but was able to celebrate a success: the government withdrew a heavily criticised austerity measure, i.e. the increase of social contributions accompanied by a reduction of employers’ contributions at the same time.
Ideas for a shift in policy
The constant increase in unemployment figures across Europe and the mass protests in many European countries clearly show the necessity of a shift in European crisis policy. In June 2012, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) adopted a Social Compact with requirements for a social Europe. The ETUC is among other opposed to intervening in collective agreement negotiations, but in favour of decent wages, a Europe wide Youth Guarantee and higher and fairer taxation of assets. Wage formation must “remain a national matter”, says the ETUC. With his demands for a social union with a European system of unemployment insurance, the French finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, is going a step further. The 25.5 million unemployed in Europe are the ones suffering under the crisis – a social Europe is long overdue!
ETUC Resolution. A Social Compact for Europe