(8 April, Budapest) The European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU) will demonstrate tomorrow as the informal meeting of the EU ministers of finance, taking place in Budapest, will be finishing. The EU ministers of finance will discuss the scoreboard of indicators that is to be used in the new European policy process on economic governance. EPSU, as well as the European Trade Union Confederation, are very concerned about the wage indicators that are going to be created, and its effects on public sector workers.
John Monks, General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation, has said today: “This is a totally unbalanced approach. It’s always about pushing wages down, never about condemning policies that squeeze wages to the bone. That’s why we are holding a European Day of Action on April 9 in Budapest – against austerity and unfairness and for growth and jobs.”
Anne Marie Perret, EPSU President, that will be marching tomorrow at the demonstration has said "We will be marching tomorrow for a more Social Europe, to protest against the current policies that put the bill, especially, on low-paid public sector workers such as nurses, firefighters, teachers, and so on. We demand the banks to pay their share of the crisis".
The scoreboard as it is proposed defines a maximum rate of increase for (unit) wage costs, but there is no reference to low pay and to wages for some workers that need to be raised. The proposals of the European Commission currently debated at the European Parliament, will put in danger a real growth and job creation can really take us out of the crisis.
EPSU will be marching tomorrow with its Hungarian affiliates (VKSDZ & KKDSZ, EDDSZ, VKDSZ) and delegations from Italy, Greece, Portugal, Romania, Czech Republic, Serbia, Latvia and Slovakia amongst others.
For more information, Pablo Sanchez, [email protected], [email protected] , 00 32 4 74 62 66 33
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