New report shows wage gap at the heart of Europe

In spite of the impending expansion of the European Union many eastern European states still lag far behind western European states in the pay league

REPORT SHOWS WAGE GAP AT THE HEART OF EUROPE
Henrik is a typical skilled manual worker employed by a large manufacturing plant in the Danish city of Alborg. He works a 37-hour week and earns 205 kroner (27.6 euros) an hour. 800 km south of Henrik's home town is the Czech city of Plzen, where Josef works in a very similar job. The big difference is that Josef's wage for his 40-hour week is just 94 koruna (2.98 euros) an hour.

Next year, with the Czech Republic due to enter the European Union, Josef hopes that this gap will close. But according to the 'Pay in Europe 2003' report just published by the Federation of European Employers (FedEE), the pay gap between the Czech Republic and Denmark has narrowed by only two points during the last year. None of the ten countries due to enter the European Union next May have been able to climb into the top half of the European pay league table and two current EU members, Greece and Portugal, remain in 22nd and 24th positions out of the 42 countries covered by the report.

Although Josef may well have to modify his expectations about his future earnings potential, he remains much better off than his counterpart in Moldova who can expect to earn just 4.57 leu (0.31 euros or 21 UK pence) an hour.

To view FedEE's European pay league table, please visit http://www.fedee.com/payeurope2003.shtml or contact Jane Gulliver on (44) 207 520 9264 for further details.

At the press launch of the report in London today, FedEE Secretary-General, Robin Chater, said that "This series of reports have had a huge influence on corporate remuneration policy. They have affected numerous inward investment decisions and become a focus for national wage accords, such as that recently completed in the Irish Republic. This year we have extended the scope from 39 to 42 countries and made several improvements to our analytical methods. No other source of pay data allows detailed comparisons to be made across comparable occupations in so many European countries."

The Pay in Europe 2003 Report, published by CAMC Publications for the Federation of European Employers (FedEE). Hourly pay rates on February 1st 2003 in local currency for 30 positions in 42 countries and territories. 51 pp. Published on March 19th 2003.

FedEE, Adam House, 7-10 Adam Street, The Strand, London WC2N 6AA, UK.
Telephone: (44) (0)207 520 9264 Fax: (44) (0)135 926 9900 Email: info@fedee.com