Instead of warning Trade Unions, the European Central Bank should initiate a serious debate on the implementation of the stability and growth pact
The European Central Bank (ECB) has no need to fear that high oil prices will result in inflationary wage deals across the euro zone. Indeed, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has underlined once again the fact that, from the trade union side, there is no danger of “second round effects”.
“Instead of publicly warning against any moves towards bigger wage demands, the ECB should take the macro-economic dialogue more seriously”, stated Reiner Hoffmann, Deputy General Secretary of the ETUC. The next meeting of the macro-economic dialogue in November is a good opportunity for in-depth talks and exchanges of views.
The experiences of the last decade have demonstrated that trade unions have been quite moderate in their collective bargaining policies and that they did not set off a wage price spiral.
The ETUC Executive Committee adopted a resolution last week concerning economic governance and clarifying the implementation of the Stability and Growth Pact, in which it welcomed the latest Commission communication as a step in the right direction. As the reform proposals of the Commission remain somewhat vague the ETUC is calling for practical measures to be implemented as soon as possible. According to Hoffmann the trade unions are disappointed by the harsh criticism levelled at them by the ECB. A more constructive debate and concrete actions are needed to bring Europe back onto the growth path towards more and better jobs.
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