Economics
Workers of the Euro Area Rise Up and Ask for More Pay, Maybe
- Unions entering pay talks can point to solid economic growth
- But even Germany has yet to see much of a pickup in wages
Workers march past the Arc de Triomphe during a demonstration against job cuts in Paris on April 19, 2017.
Photographer: Thomas Samson/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Euro-area labor representatives are about to test whether the broadest economic growth in years can finally deliver a decent pay rise.
Unions in the currency bloc’s largest nations, interviewed by Bloomberg this month, blame lackluster pay gains on dampened expectations among workers since the region’s financial crises, and reforms that have weakened their negotiating power. Now they can point to four years of economic recovery and the return of inflation as they urge employers to countenance bigger increases in collective-bargaining agreements.