Trade unions are calling on the European Central Bank (ECB) to stop putting jobs at risk by preventing investment and instead go further and faster in cutting interest rates.
The ECB today announced another 0.25% cut in interest rates, which does little to relieve the pressure it put on workers and companies by holding rates at record levels for most of last year.
The Eurozone economy is stagnant and the ECB’s latest bank lending survey shows only a small increase in business loan demand, a sign that no major recovery of business investment is on its way. Meanwhile shareholders of Europe’s biggest banks are set for another bumper dividend payout.
Ahead of an IndustriAll Europe demonstration to defend Europe's Industrial Future over mounting job losses taking place in Brussels next week, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) says the ECB must act decisively to promote investment and save jobs.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“The ECB’s slow and cautious approach to returning interest rates to normal levels is no match for the problems created for working people by its rush to impose record rates.
“As well as continuing to pile financial pressure on workers’ incomes through higher housing costs, next week’s mobilisation by industrial workers demonstrates how choking investment is now putting their jobs at risk.
“At this critical moment, the ECB should be acting decisively to protect and create quality jobs by unlocking investment in the decarbonisation of our industries, but instead its cautious approach is exacerbating the situation by keeping borrowing costs prohibitively high.”
ETUC Confederal Secretary Ludovic Voet added:
“The European industrial sector has been in decline for several quarters, with over 100,000 jobs losses already announced and many more at risk without the massive investment needed in decarbonisation, which are essential for long-term sustainability and job quality.
“As well as struggling to afford mortgage payments, high interest rates are also making it prohibitively expensive for working people to carry out renovations on their homes, which results in more expensive energy bills and less demand for the manufacturing sector.
“The ECB urgently needs to bring its monetary policy into line with the challenges facing the European economy and support investments that will help protect quality jobs at the same time as tackling climate change, rather than continuing to make a few bank shareholders even richer.”
