The EU concept of competitiveness is harmful to all the good jobs in the eurozone. What competitiveness means, in effect, is that an employer can set up a company, pay the lowest rates of pay possible and compete with good public service jobs or other positions which have good pay and conditions.
This policy of competitiveness combined with the bonkers EU Working Time Directive are the first steps towards a low-wage economy across Europe, and the creation of a two-tier society across the continent.
Those who are for competitiveness will argue that it brings down prices. But there are other ways to do that; has no one heard of enforcement?
A fairer system would be one where the EU gives financial assistance to businesses that can prove that they are in financial trouble. This would help to create a more level playing field – something that the EU needs to do urgently.
Patrick Confrey
Rathfarnham
Dublin 14
