This is the conclusion of Oxfam’s survey ahead of International Labor Day. Therefore, the organization fighting world hunger is calling for a permanent tax increase for the richest 1 percent of people.

One billion workers in fifty countries earn an average of $685 less in 2022 due to high inflation. That’s a collective loss of $746 billion (nearly €680 billion) in real wages, compared to if wages were in line with inflation. According to Oxfam, employees worked an average of six ‘free’ days last year because their wages have lagged behind inflation.

Women and girls also spend at least 380 billion hours each month in unpaid care work. Female employees also often have to work fewer hours or stop working altogether because of the high unpaid workload in the health sector. They also continue to face gender discrimination, harassment and lower pay for work of equal value to men, Oxfam said.

“While directors tell us to keep wages low, they give themselves and their shareholders big bonuses. Most people work longer hours for less money and are unable to meet living expenses. Years of austerity and attacks on unions have widened the gap between the richest and the rest of us,” said Amitabh Behar, interim executive director of Oxfam International.

Meanwhile, shareholder dividends hit a record of nearly $1.6 trillion in 2022. That’s a 10 percent real growth rate compared to 2021. U.S. companies pay out $574 billion to their shareholders, more than double the total real wage cuts for workers. America.

Employees in the Netherlands receive a reduction in real wages of 6.6 percent in 2022. As a result, they lose an average of 2,791 euros and effectively work ‘for free’ for about eleven days as wages do not keep pace with inflation. Total employee losses in the Netherlands amount to nearly 26 billion euros. Conversely, dividends paid to shareholders increased by 10 percent in real terms.