Thursday 27 May 2010

'Public sector pay rises have taken eurozone to its knees'

Big rises in public sector pay in the eurozone contributed to collapses in EU countries' public finances, a senior European Central Bank official said today.

ECB executive board member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi said average eurozone public sector pay had risen 36% in the last 10 years compared with a 24% rise in the private sector.

“The pay trend has strongly contributed to the deterioration of public finances. If public sector salaries had increased in line with private ones, Greece's deficit last year would have been more than three percentage points of GDP less,” he wrote in Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper.

The pay rises over the last 10 years have not only weighed on public finances but also on the growth potential of the European economy, he said: “Without a rapid and drastic reversal of the trend public finances will not become healthy again and growth will not pick-up.”

 

SOURCE

0 comments:

Disclaimer - The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.

The myriad of facts, conjecture, perspectives, viewpoints, opinions, analyses, and information in the articles, stories and commentaries posted on this site range from cutting edge hard news and comment to extreme and unusual perspectives. We choose not to sweep uncomfortable material under the rug - where it can grow and fester. We choose not to censor skewed logic and uncomfortable rhetoric. These things reflect the world as it now is - for better and worse. We present multiple facts, perspectives, viewpoints, opinions, analyses, and information.

Journalism is (or used to be) the profession of gathering and presenting a broad panorama of news about the events of our times and presenting it to readers for their own consideration. We believe in the intelligence, judgment and wisdom of our readers to discern for themselves among the data which appears on this site that which is valid and worthy...or otherwise.

  © Blogger template 'Perfection' by Ourblogtemplates.com 2008

Back to TOP