Draghi: workers aren’t the cause of Europe’s economic woes

UNI Europa has repeatedly warned that the EU’s current agenda of austerity and deregulation undermines workers’ livelihoods and the promise of quality jobs. This concern is now backed by Mario Draghi in his new report on the future of European competitiveness.  

For the trade union movement, three main points emerge from his analysis: 

First, the EU’s economic woes are not caused by workers and high labour costs.  

Second, the weak state of Europe’s economy is rather caused by businesses and governments making bad decisions. 

Third, EU countries’ mismanagement, underinvestment and austerity policies have run up a massive tab of 4 trillion euros of investment needs – as much as the gross domestic product of Germany – for the EU’s beginning five-year mandate. This situation could have been avoided if the needed trillions had been spent in the past. 

Though the report rightly stresses the need for significant EU investments as a means of boosting competitiveness, it does not detail the necessary measures that will guarantee the protection and creation of quality jobs in every sector and every region. 

Oliver Roethig, UNI Europa Regional Secretary said: “Draghi effectively called out that the current economic system wears no clothes. Adding insult to injury, some business leaders and politicians blame and lecture everyone else, in particular workers, to hide their past mistakes. It is they who undermined our future, muffled hope and let our accomplishments built up over decades rot away.” 

Instead, Roethig proposed: “The real answer is simple: making sure workers and their families can live in dignity – with decent pay and working conditions, employment security, good career prospects and freedom from fear of being left behind. Let’s start with the EU becoming serious with its strategic target of 80% collective bargaining coverage and changing public procurement rules to that end.” 

For further information about the European trade union movement’s perspective on the Draghi report, consult the statement by the ETUC.