Pay slip, payslip, illustration.

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A. GELEBART / 20 MINUTES

According to a report from the International Labor Organization (ILO), made public on Wednesday, the health crisis linked to the coronavirus pulled wages down in the first half of 2020 and should put them under "very strong downward pressure" in the short term.

In the first half of 2020, the ILO notes "downward pressure on the level or on the rate of growth of average wages in two thirds of countries" for which recent data are available.

She specifies that "in other countries, the average wage has increased in a largely artificial way, reflecting the consequent job cuts that have affected low-paid workers."

Women most affected

And "in the near future, the consequences of the Covid-19 crisis on the economy and on employment are expected to lead to enormous downward pressure on wages," says the ILO, advocating "appropriate wage policies and balanced, developed within the framework of a social dialogue that is both in-depth and inclusive ”to“ contain the effects of the crisis and support economic recovery ”.

The report also shows that the crisis has not had the same consequences for men as for women, the latter being affected "disproportionately".

Based on a selection of 28 European countries, the report estimates that, without the payment of wage subsidies, the total wage bill would have fallen by 6.5% between the first and second quarters of 2020: 8.1% for women , and 5.4% for men, a gap which is “above all the consequence of the reduction in hours worked”.

Poor workers particularly affected

The crisis has also disproportionately affected low-paid workers, worsening pay inequalities, says the ILO.

In some European countries, “without wage subsidies, half of the lowest paid workers would have lost around 17.3% of their wages” compared to 6.5% for all workers.

But temporary wage subsidies, introduced or extended to save jobs, have "enabled many countries to partially offset the fall in the wage bill and to mitigate the effects of the crisis on wage inequalities," underlines the ILO.

On a sample of 10 European countries for which data are available, the report estimates that wage subsidies have made it possible to "offset 40% of the losses in terms of the total wage bill".

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  • Covid 19

  • Coronavirus

  • Economy

  • Salary

  • Job

  • Crisis