Three million workers in the EU cannot afford to heat their homes

Almost three million workers in the European Union (EU) cannot afford to heat their homes due to rising energy prices. According to a study by the European Trade Union Confederation, which they published on Wednesday. The organization, which represents 45 million members, said that 15% of the EU's poor workers, representing 2,713,578 people, did not have enough money to turn on heating. Wholesale gas and electricity prices have risen sharply across Europe, which means that if people want to secure heat, their already high energy bills may rise even more. "There are millions of low-paid workers in Europe who have to choose whether to heat their homes or feed their families properly or pay rent, even though they work full time," said Esther Lynch, a spokeswoman for the institution. "Rising energy prices, unfortunately, mean that even more people will face a return from a long day's or night's work to a cold home this winter, and their children will do their homework in the cold," she added. The Confederation therefore called on the European Union to include in the draft minimum wage directive that statutory minimum wages will never be lower than 60% of the national median and 50% of the average wage in any EU country. The Confederacy said that up to 20 EU members currently have a statutory minimum wage below these levels. The highest percentage of poor workers who cannot afford to pay for heating is in Cyprus (45.6%). This is followed by Bulgaria, Lithuania, Portugal, Greece and Italy.