A few hours after the choice of the European Central Bank to raise its main interest rates by 0.5 percentage point, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) denounced on Thursday an “imprudent” decision likely to cause an economic “recession” according to it. .
This sixth consecutive rate hike, which pushes them up in a range of 3% to 3.75%, seems (…) reckless at a time when banks are failing, when inflation [en zone euro] has fallen for four months in a row and where business failures are at their highest since 2015, listed in a press release by Esther Lynch, the general secretary of the ETUC.
A new recession, which the ECB risks creating with this Thursday’s rate hikes, is the last thing workers need right now, having already been stunned by rising inflation rates to levels not seen in decades. she adds.
The increase in the cost of credit will also stifle investment, at a time when it must increase to ensure the transition to a green economy and protect the most vulnerable households from soaring prices.
In the face of inflation, the cure seems to become more dangerous than the disease, warns Ms Lynch, who is asking policymakers to stop making workers pay for one more crisis they did not cause.
After several days of tumult on the markets, following the bankruptcy of the American bank SVB and the difficulties of Credit Suisse, the decision of the ECB was particularly scrutinized.
The bank finally stuck to its initial plan to raise its rates by half a point, justifying its decision by the solidity of the banks in the euro zone.
The ETUC brings together 89 trade unions based in 39 European countries, and claims to represent 45 million workers on the Old Continent.