Workers in these countries are paid even less, by as much as 1,058 euros monthly, than workers in Germany when taking into account such factors as age, education, sector and occupation, according to the working paper "What Drives Wage Gaps in Europe" released on Thursday.
The study also revealed great wage differences between central-eastern Europe and western Europe in manufacturing, construction, the public and financial sectors, and professional, scientific and technical activities.
Smaller differences were recorded in lower-wage sectors, such as food and accommodation, retail, and administrative and support activities.
"Croatia, unfortunately, has fallen in a low-wage trap of its own volition. If we continue to be among the lowest paid workers in the European Union, we have no chance of transforming the low value-added economy, we have no chance for the future," the leader of the Croatian SSSH trade union federation, Mladen Novosel, warned while commenting on the study.
Novosel noted that in Croatia employment was growing only in low-paid jobs which would soon disappear owing to digitisation. He said that economic and social recovery was possible only based on "equitable and decent wages".
ETUC Confederal Secretary calls for an end to the unfair pay gap
"There is a wage penalty for working in central and eastern Europe," Esther Lynch, ETUC Confederal Secretary, said at the presentation of the study on Thursday.
"The pay gap cannot be explained by differences in costs of living or by differences in the workforce – on the contrary, the pay gap gets bigger when you take these into account," Lynch said.
"Workers in these countries urgently need and deserve above inflation pay rises. The EU and national governments must encourage wage growth in these countries, and create legal frameworks to promote collective bargaining, including at sectoral level.
"Workers in north-west Europe are better paid because there is a fairer and more transparent system for setting wages, involving trade unions and negotiations with employers. That's a key ingredient of the prosperity and industrial success of Germany, Austria, the Netherlands and the Nordic countries," she said.