The European institutions have reached an agreement in the early hours of this Tuesday so that there is an “adequate” minimum wage throughout the European Union. In this way, it is possible to give the green light to one of the star proposals of the Community Executive almost two years after being raised and after eight rounds of negotiations.
The minimum wage exists in all Member States, although with differences between countries, in some it is a legal minimum figure (as in the case of Spain) or through collective bargaining, as in Sweden.
From now on, some criteria will be established to set the SMI, such as the cost of living and socio-economic conditions, it is also recommended that governments prepare a basket of goods and services at real prices to determine the cost of living and thus materialize it in an adequate salary.
It is not a question, then, of setting an identical minimum wage in all countries, something difficult to achieve due to the great differences in models and standards of living among the Twenty-seven, but of setting standards and criteria that allow a decent standard of living .
The legal minimum wages will be updated at least every two years or at most every four for those countries that use an automatic indexing mechanism. The social partners must also participate in the procedures for setting and updating these minimum wages.
For France, which holds the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU, the agreement is “a great step towards a more social Europe” and “will help achieve decent working and living conditions for European employees,” the European Union said in a statement. presidency, which has scored a point by getting legislation passed that until not long ago was seen as almost a pipe dream. Largely due to the reluctance of countries such as Sweden or Denmark, who were suspicious that the measure would end the collective bargaining model.
The agreement considers that collective bargaining is key to ensuring that workers benefit from adequate minimum wages and calls on States to promote the strengthening of social partners to participate in collective bargaining. The text provides that when the collective bargaining coverage rate falls below the 80% threshold, Member States must establish an action plan to promote it.
To ensure that, effectively, all workers benefit from the protection of the minimum wage, greater controls will be included for labor inspections, more information to protect workers and that the authorities can monitor more to ensure that employers comply with the law. .
Employment Commissioner Nicolas Schmit believes the deal comes at a “particularly important” time when “many households are worried about making ends meet”, largely due to the fallout from inflation.
“For too long the European Union has neglected workers with the lowest wages. This law shows that a more social Europe is possible if there is political will”, defended the MEP from Catalunya en Comú, Ernest Urtasun.
“With this European law, we are reducing wage inequalities and promoting an improvement in wages for workers with fewer resources. They will be able to buy new clothes, be able to join a sports team, or have the right to a well-deserved vacation. In short, they will to be able to have a decent standard of living”, defended the Dutch socialist MEP, Agnes Jongerius, one of those in charge of negotiating on behalf of the European Parliament.
After this agreement, the countries and the European Parliament must ratify it in the coming weeks. Once it enters into force, the states will have up to two years to transpose the directive into their national legislation.
