The Confederation of European Trade Unions said that most low-income families in the European Union will not be able to afford the costs of a summer vacation this year (2021).
The organization, which represents 45 million members in 38 European countries, said that among the 35 million EU citizens who do not have enough money for vacation are many low-wage workers. The organization used data from Eurostat, the EU statistics agency.
“The data show that economic growth in Europe over the last few decades has not brought fair benefits.”, said Confederate Deputy Secretary-General Esther Lynch.
According to the study, 28 percent of the residents living in the block with about 450 million people do not have the financial means to enjoy a week-long vacation outside the home.
The worst situation is in Greece, where 88.9% of people living in poverty can not afford the holidays, followed by Romania (86.8%), Croatia (84.7%), Cyprus (79.2%) and Slovakia (76.1%).
The organization said many people from this category of people are unemployed or retired, but the figure also includes millions of low-wage workers.
“Minimum wages pose a risk of poverty in at least 16 EU member states”, the union said, adding that over a decade the gap between those who have money for vacation and those who have not has widened in 16 EU countries.
The Confederation of European Trade Unions said it was working with European lawmakers to set a “threshold in EU law” that would stabilize the minimum wage threshold. This legal measure would help increase wages for over 24 million people.
