Spain, Greece and Portugal have the EU's lowest pay levels, according to comparative information produced in early 2002 by a 'Social Eurobarometer' set up by the Catalan regional organisation of Spain's CC.OO trade union confederation.
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Spain, Greece and Portugal have the EU's lowest pay levels, according to comparative information produced in early 2002 by a 'Social Eurobarometer' set up by the Catalan regional organisation of Spain's CC.OO trade union confederation.
The Catalan regional organisation of the Trade Union Confederation of Workers' Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO) has set up a system of studies and comparative information on social and labour conditions in the European Union. This system, known as the 'Social Eurobarometer', will provide information on 10 indicators: pay, employment levels, quality of employment, working conditions, working time, retail prices index, health and safety at work, social protection, research and development, education and training. Every month, the Eurobarometer will provide information on these indicators, which can be consulted on its website.
The first information supplied by the CC.OO Eurobarometer compares pay across the EU in industrial production, the public administration, information technology, health and the press. The data, based on a variety of sources, compare gross pay (before tax and social contributions). The figures indicate that Spain, Greece and Portugal are the countries with the lowest pay in the EU. Workers in Denmark and Germany earn twice as much as workers in Spain. Monthly pay in industrial production in Spain ranges from EUR 4,601 for a factory manager (compared with EUR 8,136 in Germany) to EUR 1,056 for an unskilled worker (EUR 1,868 in Germany). The table below provides figures for monthly pay in industrial production - which is considerably higher than pay in services and in the public administration - across the EU.
| Country | Factory manager | Shop supervisor | Charge-hand | Skilled worker | Semi-skilled worker | Unskilled worker |
| Germany | 8,136 | 3,861 | 2,545 | 2,482 | 2,256 | 1,868 |
| Austria | 7,782 | 3,693 | 2,434 | 2,374 | 2,158 | 1,787 |
| Belgium | 7,272 | 3,451 | 2,275 | 2,219 | 2,017 | 1,670 |
| Netherlands | 6,667 | 3,164 | 2,085 | 2,034 | 1,849 | 1,531 |
| France | 6,490 | 3,080 | 2,030 | 1,980 | 1,800 | 1,490 |
| Finland | 6,416 | 3,045 | 2,007 | 1,957 | 1,779 | 1,473 |
| Ireland | 5,530 | 2,624 | 1,730 | 1,687 | 1,534 | 1,270 |
| Italy | 5,004 | 2,375 | 1,565 | 1,527 | 1,388 | 1,149 |
| Spain | 4,601 | 2,184 | 1,439 | 1,404 | 1,276 | 1,056 |
| Greece | 3,347 | 1,589 | 1,047 | 1,021 | 928 | 768 |
| Portugal | 2,168 | 1,029 | 678 | 661 | 601 | 498 |
| Euro-zone 12 | 6,404 | 3,039 | 2,003 | 1,954 | 1,776 | 1,470 |
| Denmark | 9,919 | 4,707 | 3,013 | 3,026 | 2,751 | 2,277 |
| Sweden | 7,067 | 3,354 | 2,210 | 2,156 | 1,960 | 1,622 |
| UK | 6,847 | 3,250 | 2,142 | 2,089 | 1,899 | 1,572 |
| EU 15 | 6,553 | 3,110 | 2,050 | 1,999 | 1,817 | 1,504 |
Source: CC.OO de Catalunya.
In the public administration in Spain, a head of unit receives average gross pay of EUR 1,999 a month, and an administrative assistant EUR 978, compared with EU 3,535 and EU 1,730 respectively in Germany. In the retail sector, Spanish store managers earn on average EUR 2,193 gross per month and check-out staff EUR 862, compared with EUR 3,877 and EUR 1,524 respectively in Germany. Nurses earn an average of EUR 1,252 per month in Spain (compared with EUR 2,214 in Germany and EUR 1,766 in France). In general, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Greece and Portugal are below the EU average in pay terms.
Eurofound recommends citing this publication in the following way.
Eurofound (2002), 'Social Eurobarometer' examines pay levels, article.
