September 10, 2011
Although Spain’s youth-unemployment figures are the European Union’s worst, those of Greece are not much better. Along with Italy (which fares a little better on this particular measure) these Mediterranean economies share a savage distinction between older “insiders” with permanent employment and generous benefits—a class which very definitely includes the countries’ politicians—and younger “outsiders” on short-term contracts with minimal entitlements.
In Italy, where the government has floated the idea of making it easier for firms to hire younger workers by easing some labour rules, the country’s largest trade-union federation shows what Italian youngsters are up against: “This would damage the rights of all workers in order to help the young,” Vincenzo Scudiere of the CGIL told the Wall Street Journal. A notorious Greek law passed in 1992 forced new entrants to the workforce (and their employers) to pay higher payroll taxes than those already employed. Savas Robolis, head of research at INE-GSEE, a union-backed think-tank, says that over two-thirds of Greek employees are 43 or older.
More
No comments:
Post a Comment