EU unions: Low-income Europeans cannot afford energy bills

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
6 Sep 2022 19:12
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The continued sanctions on Russia are further worsening the energy situation in the EU, with some low-income families becoming unable to afford energy bills, according to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Increasing electricity and gas bills are becoming unaffordable for low-paid Europeans, as per an ETUC study.

A study conducted for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found that increasing electricity and gas bills are becoming unaffordable for low-paid Europeans, costing them more than a month's wages for low-paid workers in the majority of EU member states, with more energy prices hikes to be witnessed likely in coming months unless government action is taken.

According to the study, an estimated 9.5 million employed people had difficulties paying their energy bills before the energy crisis began. The cost of gas and electricity had risen by 38% across Europe in comparison with last year, and it continues to soar.

The number of days a person earning the minimum wage has to work to pay their energy bill has risen dramatically in some countries, such as Estonia (+26), Netherlands (+20), Czechia (+17), and Latvia (+16).

That means Estonian workers earning the minimum wage have to work an additional 26 days to pay for their annual energy bill.

"When your bill costs over a month's wages, there's no clever money-saving trick that will make a difference," ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said in a statement, adding, "These prices are now simply unaffordable for millions of people."

🚨 NEW: The average annual energy bill is now more than a month’s pay for minimum wage workers in the majority of EU member states:

🇫🇷🇷🇴🇭🇺 costs 30 days' pay
🇩🇪 33
🇵🇹 35
🇧🇬🇮🇪 36
🇧🇪🇱🇻🇭🇷 37
🇪🇸 38
🇸🇰 45
🇳🇱 48
🇬🇷🇪🇪 54
🇨🇿 65

It’s time for fair wage rises and a cap on energy prices
— EUROPEAN TRADE UNIONS (@etuc_ces) September 6, 2022

ETUC urged European leaders "to take decisive action to end Europe's unsustainable energy price rises" ahead of their meeting next week. It called on EU leaders to install price caps on energy bills for consumers and make targeted payments to low-wage workers struggling with energy bills.

The group also called for other anti-crisis measures to protect incomes and jobs, as well as increases to minimum wages, and urged EU countries to support collective bargaining so other workers may obtain wage hikes. It also called on European nations to tax windfall profits made by energy companies.

In response to the war in Ukraine, Western countries have rolled out a comprehensive sanctions campaign aimed, in particular, at Russian energy resources.

Groceries and food are other sectors experiencing the aftermath of soaring inflation which saw prices skyrocketing across the EU.

The temporary halt of gas flows in the Nord Stream pipeline has been frequent since the conflict between Russia and Ukraine began in February.

In the UK, it was reported that 60% of factories are at extreme risk of shutting down as energy costs across the country continue to skyrocket, with electricity bills surging by more than 100% over the past year.

In Germany, inflation rose to almost 8% in August after declining slightly in the months of June and July. It is predicted that millions of German lower-income households will find it hard to pay their energy bills due to gas prices.

In France, supplies of Russian gas have been halted since last week due to non-payment for July in full.

Since the G7 agreed on imposing a price cap on Russian oil on September 2, the flow of gas has completely stopped, although Gazprom has reported that this was a temporary maintenance issue.

Russia has indeed stated that it will stop exporting Russian oil to European states that are applying the decision.

As a result, experts have said that the gas situation is likely to worsen in the EU.