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BackThis week, the Institute of Economic and Social Research in the Hans-Böckler Foundation (WSI) presented the new European Tariff Study. This shows that this year in two out of three EU countries employees are threatened with real wage losses. Responsible for this is not least the prevailing policy within the European Union to burden only the workforce with the consequences of the crisis and to propagate pay cuts as a supposed strategy to solve the crisis.
High unemployment rate curbs negotiating power of trade unions
The situation on the labour market does not seem to calm down. According to the annual average for 2010, more than 23 million people were officially unemployed throughout the EU, which is equivalent to an employment rate of 9,6 %. Concerning the EU-average for 2011, the European Commission hardly expects any changes on the labour market. Hence, the conclusion is that the continuing adverse labour market situation has a dampening effect on the wage development and thereby on the negotiating power of the trade unions.
Austria can expect a real wage loss of 0.3 % for 2011
The real per capita wages in 13 EU states already fell in 2010. At 8.2 percent, the highest losses were recorded in Greece. With regard to this year, the economic prognosis of the EU Commission, which was analysed in the study of the WSI, even predicts that 18 of the 27 Member States will suffer real wage losses. Austria can expect a real wage loss of 0.3 % for 2011. The WSI Study comes to the conclusion that on the one hand further pay cuts have to be avoided in countries affected by the crisis and that one has to find a way back to a productivity-oriented real wage policy to overcome domestic stagnation. On the other hand, the surplus countries – among them in particular Germany – are faced with the task to adopt a significantly more expansive wage development in order to correct the undesirable developments of the last decade at least to a certain degree and to take responsibility for the economic dynamic in Europe as a whole.
Further information:
Europäischer Tarifbericht des WSI (German only) European Tariff Study of the WSI
Press release of the WSI on the European Tariff Study (German only)
The situation on the labour market does not seem to calm down. According to the annual average for 2010, more than 23 million people were officially unemployed throughout the EU, which is equivalent to an employment rate of 9,6 %. Concerning the EU-average for 2011, the European Commission hardly expects any changes on the labour market. Hence, the conclusion is that the continuing adverse labour market situation has a dampening effect on the wage development and thereby on the negotiating power of the trade unions.
Austria can expect a real wage loss of 0.3 % for 2011
The real per capita wages in 13 EU states already fell in 2010. At 8.2 percent, the highest losses were recorded in Greece. With regard to this year, the economic prognosis of the EU Commission, which was analysed in the study of the WSI, even predicts that 18 of the 27 Member States will suffer real wage losses. Austria can expect a real wage loss of 0.3 % for 2011. The WSI Study comes to the conclusion that on the one hand further pay cuts have to be avoided in countries affected by the crisis and that one has to find a way back to a productivity-oriented real wage policy to overcome domestic stagnation. On the other hand, the surplus countries – among them in particular Germany – are faced with the task to adopt a significantly more expansive wage development in order to correct the undesirable developments of the last decade at least to a certain degree and to take responsibility for the economic dynamic in Europe as a whole.
Further information:
Europäischer Tarifbericht des WSI (German only) European Tariff Study of the WSI
Press release of the WSI on the European Tariff Study (German only)