Cyprus is first among the European Union member states when it comes to the percentage of people who can’t afford to heat their homes despite having work, according to data analysed on behalf of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC).

According to the findings, which were published as energy prices rocket across Europe, 15% of Europe’s working poor won’t be able to turn on the heating – equivalent to 2,713,578 people across Europe.

The percentage of workers that cannot afford to pay for heating are at 45.6% according to a press release summarising the results of the analysis.

The situation has gotten worse in 10 EU member states, including Cyprus, over the last decade. Now, soaring electricity prices across Europe risk plunging even more workers into energy poverty, according to the data which were drawn from Eurostat.

The highest percentages of working poor who can’t afford heating are found in Cyprus, Bulgaria (42.8%), Lithuania (34.5%), Portugal (30.6%), Greece (28.7%) and Italy (26.1%).

The highest percentage point increase in working poor who can’t afford heating since 2009 was recorded in Croatia (16.5%), Cyprus (10%), Lithuania (7.9%), Slovakia (7.8%), Spain (6%) and Italy (5.2%).

The trade unions that make ETUC are calling on the European Parliament to insulate workers against energy poverty by introducing a ‘threshold of decency’ into the draft EU directive on minimum wages which would ensure that statutory minimum wages guarantee a decent standard of living and could never be paid at less than 60% of the median wage and 50% of the average wage of any member state.

Currently 20 EU member states have statutory minimum wages below this level and the EU’s draft directive on minimum wages would not change this as it stands, according to ETUC.

The confederations argue that amendments are also needed to raise the number of workers covered by collective bargaining across Europe.

“There are millions of low paid workers in Europe who have to choose between heating their home or feeding their family properly or paying the rent despite working full time. That is unacceptable and defeats the whole point of a minimum wage” said ETUC deputy general secretary Esther Lynch.

The EU’s Ministers for Transportations and Energy were expected to discuss the “Fit for 55” climate and energy package in an informal meeting in Slovenia on Wednesday.

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