40 million Europeans hit by holiday poverty: What is it?

A holiday is a powerful antidote to stress.

But taking a break is also a luxury that not everyone can afford.

Millions of Europeans are struggling to take even time off their work, highlighting the socio-economic divide in the country.

Let’s take a look.

Holiday poverty in Europe

Holiday poverty is when a working individual cannot afford even a week off in a year.

According to a new study, nearly 40 million or 15 per cent of working people couldn’t afford a week’s holiday away from home, either in their own country or abroad, in 2022.

The numbers have dramatically increased from 37.6 million or 14 per cent in 2021, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), a union representing workers in the region, said in its study.

“Too many people are no longer seeing the benefits of Europe’s powerful economy in their everyday lives,” ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said in a statement.

The biggest increase in holiday poverty was observed in France, with about a million hard-working people being forced to stay at home.

The highest percentage point changes were reported in Ireland (+3.8 per cent).

According to the report, over 13 countries were worse off than others, with over six million people, Italy having the highest number of workers who couldn’t pay for holidays. Other countries facing similar difficulties were Romania (36 per cent), Cyprus and Greece (25 per cent).

“The 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 profit-driven inflation,” it said.

As per Fortune, Short domestic travel accounted for half of all personal tourism trips taken by EU individuals in 2022, with 62 per cent of such journeys being made, according to Eurostat.

Germans spend the most on international travel, spending €85.2 billion, followed by French tourists, who spend €39.2 billion, the report said.

Not the first time

The trend of fewer workers being able to afford vacations has been observed in Europe even before lockdowns and the recent wave of economic volatility.

The number of people unable to afford vacations shot up significantly in 2010, following the financial crisis.

Since 2010, about 39 per cent of Europeans couldn’t afford to take a week’s holiday from their home.

“At least three million workers had been stripped of the benefits of collective bargaining since 2000, partly due to austerity policies, with the biggest falls coming in countries which have the highest levels of holiday poverty,” the ETUC report said.

Those figures began recovering in the years leading up to the pandemic, but the trend has since reversed.

Reasons behind it

The study examined income and living standards data from the European Union for individuals between the ages of 18 and 64 in the years 2021 and 2022. This was a time when high inflation and interest rates increased global costs of living.

Saving for holidays became more and more difficult for workers due to rising housing, food, and transportation prices, and inflation.

Low-wage workers frequently find it difficult to pay for necessities, which leaves little money for recreational travel.

According to the European Commission, about half of European workers think that stress is a common workplace issue and one of the most challenging issues in occupational safety and health.

“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,” Lynch said.

“The growth in the number of working-class families who could afford a holiday was one of Europe’s great social advances of the 20th century. It improved the health and wellbeing of millions of people and contributed to a feeling of progress and optimism. These figures show how social progress is being reversed as a result of increased economic inequality."

“While the wealthy CEOs who caused profit-driven inflation were sunning themselves in luxury resorts at the height of the cost-of-living crisis, a single week’s holiday was beyond the means of forty million hardworking people and their families who struggled just to put food on the table,” she added.

The need for ‘collective bargaining’

According to the study, the results highlight the need for the EU and its member states to guarantee that collective bargaining benefits all workers.

Employees covered by the practice not only receive more equitable compensation but also get up to two extra weeks of vacation time annually.

To tackle the problem, the Minimum Wage Regulation has been enacted by EU leaders, mandating that all member states encourage collective bargaining and make sure that at least 80 per cent of workers are covered by agreements.

However, a new Eurofound report said, “Concrete actions to promote collective bargaining coverage were only detected in a small number of countries.”

The ETUC has warned its member states to put the Minimum Wages Directive into national law by November 2024.

With inputs from agencies