Brussels – In 2022, 39.7 million workers in the EU, or 15 percent of all, could not afford at least one week of vacation away from home, compared to 37.6 million, or 14 percent, the previous year, announced the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). In Slovenia, such workers accounted for 7.9 percent, compared to 7.2 percent the previous year.
The highest number of workers unable to afford a week-long vacation was in Italy, 6.1 million or 17 percent. Vacation poverty increased the most in nominal terms in France, where almost 4.7 million or 11.9 percent of all workers could not afford a week-long vacation in 2022. Relatively, it increased the most in Ireland, by 3.8 percentage points to 14.8 percent.
Slovenia is significantly below the EU average, probably also because of the legally mandated holiday allowance, warned the Free Trade Unions of Slovenia (ZSSS) in the newspaper Delo this week.
The newspaper also noted that, although the most common reasons people do not go on vacation are financial, a frequent reason is also a lack of free time. Workers in Slovenia covered by a national collective agreement have eight to ten more days of vacation than those without a collective agreement, assessed the president of ZSSS Lidija Jerkič. (August 10)