Joint Statement on the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the EU
In response to the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) meeting on 14 June, Social Platform and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) urge EU ministers to demonstrate their full political support for the proposed directive.
The following elements are seen as key for the directive in making sure that there are adequate minimum wages for workers in the EU, as well as guaranteeing the right to collective bargaining:
- The directive must include effective measures to protect, promote and strengthen collective bargaining.
- Member States must be required to ensure that statutory minimum wages are not paid below a threshold of 60% of the national median gross wage and 50% of the national average gross wage.
- Member States must be required to ensure that statutory minimum wages are applied across all sectors of the economy, all categories of workers and all forms of employment to prevent an increase in labour exploitation and wage inequality.
- We also reject the proposal by some governments to remove all rights for workers from the directive. This attempt to turn the directive into a recommendation by the back door must be strongly opposed.
Just as Europe is facing a new social crisis, now is the time for governments to take responsibility, to build a more resilient, socially just and inclusive Europe that leaves no one behind and to deliver on the promises made to workers in the EU.