EU Labor Union Welcomes Leaders' Decision To Look Beyond GDP To Measure Economic Success

The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on Saturday welcomed EU leaders' decision to use an alternative set of economic indicators to complement gross domestic product when measuring welfare

BRUSSELS (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 08th May, 2021) The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) on Saturday welcomed EU leaders' decision to use an alternative set of economic indicators to complement gross domestic product when measuring welfare.

In Saturday's declaration after the two-day summit in Portugal's Porto, EU leaders backed an initiative to supplement GDP with other indicators.

"A new way of measuring economic wellbeing which puts people before profit has been long overdue. The agreement of EU leaders on moving beyond GDP is an important step towards creating the vision of a social Europe set out in Porto," ETUC Confederal Secretary Liina Carr said in a statement.

She argued that industrial production was a poor indicator of citizens' wellbeing because wealth does not just "trickle down." The trade union estimates that in two-thirds of EU countries workers receive a smaller share of the national GDP than they did at the beginning of the decade.

Luca Visentini, the trade union's boss, said the EU needed to invest massively in quality jobs and new industries to avoid creating employment black holes across Europe. He stressed this could be achieved only through dialogue between government, employers, unions, and civil society.