(31 January 2018) While there have been further signs of a pickup across the European economy, sluggish growth in both wages and working hours remain major concerns. These were among the key points debated yesterday (29 January) between trade unions, employers, European Commission and Council at the technical meeting of the Macroeconomic Economic Dialogue.
The economic update from the Commission was positive on the prospects for growth and during the meeting it was pointed out that around 7.5 million jobs had been created since the depths of the crisis. However, the Commission said that the total of hours worked in Europe was still below the level recorded in the early 2000s, mainly as a result of the increasing trend to part-time work.
There was also further debate about the need for pay rises to boost the economy and an exchange on the factors, including the weakening of collective bargaining, behind low wage growth. EPSU was part of the eight-strong ETUC delegation and underlined the continuing challenges facing workers in the public service workers, with many still facing negative real wage developments.
The meeting also discussed the notion of economic resilience and how economies could reduce their vulnerability to downturns, improve their capacity to absorb shocks and ensure a more rapid recovery.
The technical meeting of the Macroeconomic Dialogue (MED) convenes twice a year to discuss the main themes for the political MED which next meets on 9 February.
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