In Italy, the debate has focused on basic income, which encourages sitting on the couch rather than going to work, as Agriculture Minister Francesco Lollobrigida recently suggested. But in Brussels, the focus was on the lack of skills to meet the demands of companies (and to be filled with training and foreign workers). However, one study seems to contradict both approaches. By reducing the labor shortage problem afflicting Europe more and more to two main factors: wages and working conditions that are very low relative to the current cost of living.
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This is the conclusion reached by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), the work center of the European Trade Union Confederation. Analyzing employment and wage developments in different sectors of the EU economy between 2019 and 2022, the study found that labor shortages hit firms that offer inflation-adjusted wages and worse working conditions the most.
“The job vacancies in Europe are now at a record high, and last year more than a quarter of EU businesses complained of production problems caused by labor shortages,” the document said. he begins. But considering that the problem affects everyone, there are those who are worse off. “From 2019 to 2022, the sectors with the most labor shortages tended to offer worse working conditions overall,” the ETUC writes. And within the same industry, for the same job, “labor gaps clearly increased most among relatively low-paying jobs.”
Another key element concerns skills: “providing more workers with the skills needed to work in the industries of the future” is “a crucial part of a socially just transition towards a green economy,” although, according to the study, “labour shortages are higher” are necessarily higher. in sectors and profiles that do not require skills”. In other words, the commitment of the European Union and governments to promote education in the new skills of the digital and ecological transition is true, but not enough: wages and working conditions are the issue.
stake fees
In wages, the growth trend has so far been moderate, even close to zero. According to a previous ETUC survey, real wages (ie adjusted for inflation) fell in half of EU member states in 2022, including Italy. And this happened “despite increasing real profits.” Unions say so, but so does the European Central Bank. ECB experts argue in an article that “unit profits increased by 9.4% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2022,” while “unit labor costs increased by 4.7%.” Profits rose above inflation, wages rose below (and quite a bit).
“As Joe Biden said, the answer is simple: pay them more,” says Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation. “It’s time for European politicians to stop buzzing about the cause of our labor shortage and send an equally clear message to employers,” the unionist added. “The EU should also follow the US in making public finance for companies dependent on their commitments to pay living wages, provide fair conditions and upgrade workers’ skills with a clear collective bargaining obligation,” Lynch said.
Source: Today IT

Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.