Cyprus tops the table on increasing income and social inequalities across the EU
17th June 2021, AKEL C.C. Press Office, Nicosia
Despite the benefits that have been given during the pandemic, recent figures released by the European Statistical Office confirm that Cyprus remains top of the table with regards increasing income and social inequalities across the European Union. In Cyprus, wages fell by 2.4% in the first quarter of the year, while in the rest of the European Union wages rose by 2.6% on average. These figures reflect the difficult daily life experienced by working people and wage earners in general.
AKEL continues to argue that the continuation of support measures is imperative after the pandemic as well. At the same time, AKEL reiterates the need for measures to be taken for the protection of working people’s rights, the safeguarding of a minimum wage and elementary basic rights by occupation, the implementation of the agreed collective agreements and the protection of working people from the deregulation of labour relations.
AKEL also stresses the need for the National Action Plan for the Recovery and Resilience Fund to include a comprehensive strategy to confront income and social inequalities, given that unfortunately the plan includes only isolated actions. Obviously for the Government the combatting of income inequalities was not considered as a priority, while it unquestionably must be.
