Average annual energy bills are higher than minimum wage in most European Union (EU) countries after gas and electricity surges, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) warned today.
“Millions of workers were already struggling to pay their bills before this crisis and are now being asked to pay skyrocketing energy costs with depreciating wages,” said ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch.
Some 9.5 million workers were already struggling to pay their energy bills before euro-zone inflation soared to an all-time high of 9.1% yoy in August, according to the statement published by the ETUC on its website.
Gas and electricity alone have seen an annual increase of 38% across Europe and costs continue to rise.
With those numbers, workers earning the minimum wage in 16 EU member states are being forced to “reserve the equivalent of a month’s wages or more to keep the lights and heat on in the home,” which happened in eight states in 2021.
“When your bill is more than a month’s salary, there isn’t a clever savings trick that will make a difference. These prices are simply unaffordable for millions of people today. Behind those numbers are real people making increasingly difficult decisions about whether they can afford to turn on the heating or cook hot meals for their children,” Lynch said, as quoted by AFP.
According to the report, a person in Estonia has to work 26 more days to pay the bill, a number that reaches 20 in the Netherlands, 17 in the Czech Republic and 16 in Latvia.
Furthermore, in four countries (Slovakia, Greece, Czech Republic and Italy) the annual energy bill exceeds the monthly wage of an average wage worker.
The ETUC expressed its concern that the data refer to July this year.
In other words, the crisis facing workers has deepened as price hikes for energy and other basic commodities such as groceries continued through August and the first days of September, “while executives and shareholders of energy companies are enjoying record profits on your costs.
The data comes from an analysis by the European Trade Union Institute, an independent ETUC think tank, to be presented ahead of next Friday’s emergency EU Energy Council meeting.
The ETUC called on European leaders to take decisive action to end Europe’s energy price hikes in a six-point plan that includes calls for wage increases, emergency payments, a ban on non-payment shutdowns, and a cap on the cost of bills and a tax on excess profits from energy companies.
“It is immoral and politicians must get this crisis under control before it takes lives this winter. It’s time for fair wage increases, a cap on energy prices, taxes on excess profits and emergency payments to the poorest households,” Lynch added.
The price crisis in Europe was unleashed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
On the one hand, the EU imposed sanctions on Russia, which responded by cutting gas supplies that Europe depends on for supplies; At the same time, dozens of tons of grain were stranded in Ukrainian ports.
While the ports are now cleared, no ship from the world’s largest grain exporter has sailed for at least four months.
