There has been an increase in the number of workers in Ireland who cannot afford a week’s holiday away from home, either in their own country or abroad, according to new research.
Analysis of EU data for the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has found that in 2022, an estimated 14.8% of Irish workers could not afford a week’s holiday.
This was a 3.83 percentage point increase on the previous year’s figure, meaning that Ireland recorded the highest percentage point increase across the EU.
The 2022 figures are the most recent available data, but ETUC is warning that figures for 2023 could be even worse following a record increase in the cost of holidays last summer combined with falling real wages across the EU last year due to inflation.
Across the EU, ETUC said that the number of workers who could not afford a week’s holiday increased by more than two million between 2021 and 2022.
It estimated that 14.6% of working people across the EU could not afford a holiday in 2022, up from 13.8% in 2021.
The figures are based on analysis of EU statistics on income and living standards (EU-SILC) microdata by the European Trade Union Institute, the independent research centre of the ETUC.
Researchers estimated the proportion of workers who cannot afford a week’s holiday from the EU-SILC, and expressed this in the number of people affected, rounded to the nearest 1,000.
The countries with the highest share of workers who could not afford a holiday were Romania, Cyprus and Greece.
“After working hard all year, working people should be able to afford a holiday,” said ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch.
She added: “A holiday is not a luxury, having time away with family is key for protecting the physical and mental health of workers along with providing valuable experiences for children.
“These figures show how social progress is being reversed as a result of increased economic inequality.
“We urgently need to raise the levels of workers covered by collective bargaining agreements. It is the best way of ensuring a working people receive a fair share of the wealth they create and can enjoy something as basic a week’s holiday rather than just struggling to survive.”
Article Source: Increase in number of workers who can’t afford a holiday – study