+- Forums (https://eu-forums.com)
+-- Forum: EU Forums (https://eu-forums.com/forum-19.html)
+--- Forum: General EU chat (https://eu-forums.com/forum-3.html)
+--- Thread: Salaries and Pensions in the Eurozone..!!! (/thread-5020.html)
Salaries and Pensions in the Eurozone..!!! - chris - 01-09-2011
Harmonization of Salaries and Pensions in the Eurozone!
I originally come from one country of the Eurozone and I am living in another! My family still lives in Greece, while I am making my living in Ireland. Every time I visit home and meet up with friends and family we discuss how are we getting on with our jobs, our lives and how do we make things meet. One thing that comes to my attention is how most things cost the same in the Eurozone. Of course you will say, that is one of the main reasons we do have the euro and one of its benefits. Yes, but then why our salaries are so different?
While Greece's minimum wage before the crisis reached about 700 € and now it got to just under the 600 €, Ireland's minimum wage was at 1200 € only to be cut in the current year for about 80 €. But if you go in any supermarket or any department store, the prices of the goods do not differ much. There are few differences of course: to rent or buy a property in Ireland costs up to three times the cost of one apartment in Greece, transportation and tobacco are also considerably higher (in the Irish case it was the property boom that led to those prices, and we all now realize that economies like these are not worth having; few people benefit, most lose and end up paying for the winners). How can people in Greece have a decent living if you think about it, when they earn almost half of what their Irish co-Europeans earn, but the prices of food, clothing and other necessary goods are the same? Can the prices of a bus or a train fare justify such differences? (In Ireland a bus fare costs 1.50 € while in Greece about 0.60 €). Alcohol used to be cheaper in Greece, but now with the new tax rate of 23% is actually more expensive to buy alcohol there than in Ireland!!
And this is not just between Greece and Ireland. I have travelled in many European countries, mainly in the Eurozone, and the prices do not differ much; the wages though do. How can anyone justify that Europeans must be paid differently for doing exactly the same job? Why must an Irish that works in a check out in a super market earn more than a Greek, and a Greek more than a Slovakian one? Why since we have the same currency, and a common market, common prices for most goods we still have unequal wages? And not just the wages but our pensions too! An Irish pensioner is earning about 800 € per month, while a pensioner in Greece about 300 or 400 € at best.
Different economies you will say of course. Each country controls its taxes, fiscal policies, wages etc. But what if we had one common European economy? Besides isn't the differences in our economies that make the existence of the Euro more complicated? We see that it creates problems that when manipulated by some groups of people or organizations (the Markets, George Soros), can create situations like the one we are now dealing with. One currency, one market perhaps we should start thinking about harmonization of our salaries as well. Why create this inequality in our working force? Is it because it suits our Governments? Imagine if Poland had the Euro and the Polish workers earned as much in Poland as in Ireland, why would they migrate in the first place?
But perhaps our elite needs those inequalities so they can always find cheap labor force. If an Irish man won't do the job for less, perhaps a Polish or a Romanian will! Is that the Europe that we want to create? With the expansion of the Euro perhaps we should put the bases for salary and pension harmonization that will eventually take place in all Eurozone members. The people would welcome such move. The goods that we need are getting more and more expensive with the Euro anyway, how come we can share a currency with Germany but not the German wages? How come we can pay the same for a bottle of milk but not earn the same? Why our leaders are only giving us half of the benefits of the common market and currency, why are they doing things half way? Why it is the people of Europe that must be the guinea pigs of the social and financial experiments of our Governments, and who profits from this situation?
We have a common and free market but some nations are being forced into having less to spend, while others are given more. If Greece has lower wages shouldn't have lower prices as well? Then the German tourists would really find things cheaper in their holidays, but to their surprise Greece is a very expensive country. In that way the Greeks are losing out twice: not just by not earning the same as the Germans and not having the same to spend and travel as much as them, but losing out in Tourism as well as the Germans prefer to go to Tunisia or other cheaper holiday destinations. So why is Greece in the Eurozone in the first place? If we make the sacrifice of not being able to devalue our currency and attract Tourism, then shouldn't be given equal wages with other Europeans and similar economies to them? Industrialization and technology, invest in new ways of energy and research in fields as green energy and agriculture. Why are we given half the benefits of EU and Euro membership and who takes the other half? Who profits when we lose?
If you think that is fair to be paid half of a person in a nearby country for doing the same job, and while belonging to the same "European family", same market and using the same currency then perhaps we should stick with this situation. But imagine if everyone in Europe had the same opportunity in prosperity, progress and development, same salaries and money to spent, was paying the same prices for the same goods; wouldn't that mean equality and all the things that EU is boasting for? Think about it! I do not want to be a second class EU citizen any more.
as posted in <!-- w --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.eblanademocraticmove.blogspot.com">www.eblanademocraticmove.blogspot.com</a><!-- w -->