Newsroom
Cyprus recorded the second-largest share of workers unable to afford vacations in 2022 among EU member states, with 25% of its workforce affected, according to an analysis of Eurostat data by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). This marks the third-largest increase compared to 2021, highlighting growing regional economic inequality.
In 2022, Romania led the EU with 36% of workers unable to afford a holiday, followed by Cyprus and Greece at 25% each. The ETUC warns that figures for 2023 could worsen due to rising holiday costs and declining real wages caused by profit-driven inflation.
Across the EU, 39.7 million working people (14.6%) could not afford a week’s holiday away from home in 2022, up from 37.6 million (13.8%) in 2021. ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch emphasized that a holiday is essential for workers' physical and mental health and for providing valuable experiences for children. "The growth in the number of working-class families who could afford a holiday was one of Europe’s great social advances of the 20th century," Lynch noted, adding that these figures reflect a reversal of social progress due to increased economic inequality.
France experienced the largest increase in holiday poverty, with 974,000 more workers unable to go on vacation in 2022 compared to 2021. Italy had the highest number of workers who couldn’t afford a break, with over 6 million affected, despite a decrease of about a million workers.
The most significant percentage point increases were in Ireland (+3.8%) and France (+2.5%), with Cyprus following closely at +2.39%, affecting approximately 1,454,000 people.
ETUC's analysis underscores the importance of collective bargaining agreements in ensuring fair wages and benefits for workers, including the ability to afford vacations. The EU member states have adopted the Minimum Wage Directive, which mandates promoting collective bargaining and ensuring at least 80% of workers are covered by agreements. However, a recent Eurofound report indicated that concrete actions to promote collective bargaining were limited to a small number of countries.
The ETUC has reminded member states that the deadline to incorporate the Minimum Wages Directive into national law is November 15, 2024.
[Information sourced from CNA]
