Filenews 3 August 2021 - by Theano Thiopoulou
Cyprus is among the top five countries with the highest proportion of low-income families who can't afford even a week's holiday, according to a study by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), entitled "Low income leaves 35 million without holiday".
The study was published yesterday as part of the campaign to improve labour income in the EU. According to the ETUC "workers receiving poverty-level pay are among the 35 million poorest Europeans who cannot afford to go on holiday in the summer".
In particular, according to the ETUC study, which is based on Eurostat data, 28% of EU citizens cannot afford a week's holiday outside the home. This rises to 59.5%, on average, among people with incomes below the poverty risk threshold (60% of the average).
The worst situation is recorded in Greece, with 88.9% of people with incomes below the poverty risk threshold (or 1.38 million) not affording holidays. This is followed by Romania with 86.8% of workers living at risk of poverty (3.07 million) not being able to take a holiday this year. In third place is Croatia with 84.7% of people with incomes on the edge of poverty (524.29 mm) unable to afford a holiday. In fourth place, according to ETUC is Cyprus, with 79.2% of people living on the risk of poverty (81.57 mm) unable to take a holiday. Slovakia closes with 76.1% and 360.71 mm. Citizens.
Italy has the highest number of people in this category, with 7 million people in the EU. (71.2%), followed by Spain with 4.7 million (62.8%), Germany 4.37 million (31.7%), France 3,6 million (57,2%) and Poland EUR 3,1 million. (63,4%).
Analysis of Eurostat data by ETUC and ETUI found that holiday inequality has increased in 16 Member States over the past decade, between those with incomes below 60% of the average and those with incomes above this threshold. The largest increases in the inequality gap also occurred in France (+16%), Slovakia (+14%), Croatia (13.8%), Lithuania (+8.3%), Hungary (+7.9%), Cyprus (+7.5%).
The ETUC highlights holiday inequality as part of its efforts to strengthen the draft EU Directive on adequate minimum wages and extend the signing of collective agreements, which will be considered by the European Parliament after the summer. It should be noted that the ETUC is working with MEPs to introduce a "decency threshold" into the legislation, ensuring that legal minimum wages could never fall below 60% of the average wage and 50% of the average salary of any Member State, providing a wage increase to over 24 million people.
