Rising electricity and gas prices are making the energy bills of millions of Europeans "
unpayable
", warned the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) in a statement on Tuesday.
“
Some 9.5 million working people were already having difficulty paying their energy bills
” before inflation soared to reach a record level of 9.1% over one year in August in the euro zone, says the ETUC, based on a study by the European Trade Union Institute.
From July 2021 to July 2022, the cost of gas and electricity increased by 38% across Europe “
and it continues to climb
”.
Consequently, in sixteen Member States of the European Union (EU) including France, "
workers paid the minimum wage must set aside the equivalent of a month's salary or more to continue to have light and heat home
“, deplore the unions.
In 2021, this was only the case in eight of the twenty-seven EU Member States.
Read alsoThe executive's scenarios in the face of soaring energy prices
In 2022, an Estonian worker must work twenty-six days longer than in 2021 to pay his annual energy bill, and a Dutch worker twenty additional days.
In Slovakia, Greece, the Czech Republic and Italy, "
the average annual energy bill now represents more than a month's salary for an active worker paid the average wage
" in his country, details the ETUC.
“
When your annual bill costs more than a month's salary, there are no tricks to saving money.
These prices are simply unaffordable for millions of people today
,” said ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch, quoted in the press release.
six points
The unions therefore call on European governments, who will meet at the end of the week in Prague to discuss energy issues, to “
put an end to unsustainable price increases
”.
In a six-point plan for policy makers on the continent, they call for higher wages and in particular minimum wages.
The ETUC also calls for capping energy bills and taxing the “
windfall profits
” of energy companies.
Paris and Berlin have pushed in recent days for a simple “
contribution
”, non-tax, from these companies.
"
Political leaders must seize this crisis before it costs lives this winter
," insists Esther Lynch.
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