World Day of Social Justice - 20 February
The ETUC is extremely concerned on the rising of inequality: the latest figures are self-explanatory: the income of the 10% highest income recipients has grown much more rapidly than for the rest of the population over the past 25 years and in 2014, the richest 1% of people in the world owned 48% of global wealth – and will own more than all the rest by 2016. Today, in the EU 122 million people are at risk of poverty or social exclusion and 15 million people are in-work poverty. Rising inequality must be tackled by political leaders: a new path towards a fairer society is needed.
A recent report from the IMF http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2015/03/jaumotte.htm shows that “lower unionization is associated with an increase in top income shares in advanced economies during the period 1980–2010”. It is clear that stronger trade unions are a route to a fairer society.
Inequality in Europe: Tackling the income and wealth gap
On the eve of the UN’s World Day of Social Justice, in cooperation with Euractiv Institute, the ETUC organised a public debate Inequality in Europe: Tackling the income and wealth gap on 19/02/2015 at the Brussels Press Club (Rue Froissart 95 - 1040 Brussels).
#InequalityEU
Watch the video of the debate: www.euractiv.com/video/inequality-europe-tackling-income-and-wealth-gap-312434
See the debate on inequality on Storify: https://storify.com/etuc_ces/inequality-in-europe-tackling-the-income-and-wealt
On the 20 February - World day of Social Justice – the ETUC was outside the HQ of the European Commission and European Council in Brussels, to raise awareness of rising of inequality and to demand action by the EU to deliver on their promise of a fairer society.
You can see below the leaflet being handed out to European Commission and European Council staff as they arrived at work. For photos of the action see: https://www.flickr.com/photos/etuc-ces/sets/72157650510456519/