Additionally, in most European countries we don't have a culture of hidding our salaries from each other.
You don't need a public list from HR, and almost everyone will answer when asked "do you mind telling me...".
Surely there are people that will answer that they rather not, so far I haven't bumped in such people so far.
Unions and CSEs try to give some transparency on salaries for a given position in a given company, but even then, it's not like knowing the salary of everyone.
When organizations freeze, they close doors, simple as that.
I bet there are more suicides tied to reckless organizations like the Wall Street finance sector than unionized European countries.
Additionally, in most European countries we don't have a culture of hidding our salaries from each other.