Salaries have been sliding 3.1 pct a year in Greece

Salaries in Greece have shrunk at an annual average of 3.1 percent since 2009, according to a survey conducted by the European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

Following 10 years in which European growth indices remained flat or fell, the picture appears more optimistic this time, although there remains a high degree of uncertainty, the ETUI survey shows.

In this context, Greece is one of the seven European Union member-states where workers today have not benefited from the bloc’s financial rebound, as their salaries are lower than eight years ago. In the 2009-16 period, the average salary in fixed prices (without inflation) dropped by 3.1 percent every year in Greece, 1 percent in Croatia, 0.9 percent in Hungary, 0.7 percent in Portugal, 0.6 percent in Cyprus, 0.4 percent in the UK and 0.3 percent in Italy.

The survey also found that in 18 EU states, salaries grew at a much slower pace in those seven years compared to the eight years up to 2009. It was only in three countries – Germany, Poland and Bulgaria – that the increase in salaries in 2009-16 exceeded that recorded in the 2001-08 period.