An International Labour Organisation report published today claims that the European Commission’s €315 billion investment plan could create some 1.8 million additional jobs over the next 3 years.
An additional 200,000 jobs could be created if the investment was allocated taking into account unemployment levels, and a further 126,000 if €15 billion (of the €315bn) was invested in ‘skill development’, according to the ILO.
European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) Deputy Secretary General Józef Niemiec said “ The ILO has proved that the European investment plan is too small. Reducing Europe’s 25 million unemployed by less than 2m is a start, but far from enough. What about the remaining 23 million unemployed? The €315 billion investment plan is a step in the right direction, but the funds available need to be increased by European Governments.”
He added “ The number of jobs created should be one of the criteria for choosing investment projects. At the same time there is a need to ensure that these are quality jobs.”
The ETUC is concerned that
- it will be hard to generate €315bn investment from just €21bn public money
- An investment of €105 per year (€315bn over 3 years) is less than 40% of the €280 billion annual investment gap (since 2008)
- The continuing emphasis by the European Commission and ECB on fiscal consolidation (eg Government cuts) and structural reforms (eg keeping down wages and making work more precarious) undermines the positive impact of additional investment by suppressing demand.
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