Minimum wage rules, should the directive be adopted by the council, will be reviewed for all member states.  Photo: Shutterstock

Minimum wage rules, should the directive be adopted by the council, will be reviewed for all member states.  Photo: Shutterstock

The European Parliament on 14 September adopted new rules on adequate minimum wages for all workers in the EU.

Aiming to promote economic and social progress, 505 MEPs voted in favour of a proposal on wages. 92 deputies were against, while 44 abstained from taking a position on a text that will impact all EU workers with a working contract or employment relationship.

At the heart of the directive are “achieving decent living and working conditions”, “promoting collective bargaining on wage setting” and “enhancing effective access of workers to rights to minimun wage protection where provided by national law and/or collective agreements,” as the

More coverage for workers

According to the directive, member states will have to ensure that the minimum wages they set offer workers a decent life while considering the local cost of living and “wider pay levels,” the EU parliament explains in a press release. A basket of goods and services at real prices and open dialogues with social partners should help calibrate the minimum wages needed to meet the directive, the parliament says.

In addition, if less than 80% of local workers are not covered by collective bargaining, governments and social partners will have to work together to increase the coverage. This rule was added to the directive, as, “member States with a high collective bargaining coverage tend to have a low share of low-wage workers and high minimum wages.” Said member states usually go above the 80% mark. The states that have to implement an action plan to improve their coverage will have to review their strategy at least every five years.

But, if the directive is adopted by the Council in September-- the text demands that “routine and unannounced visits, judicial and/or administrative proceedings and sanctions in case of infringement” be implemented, as part of a “reliable monitoring” to address any “abusive sub-contracting, bogus self-employment, non-recorded overtime or health and safety risks linked to an increased work intensity.”

Luxembourg, among the highest minimum wages but…

The grand duchy is, alongside Ireland and Germany, the country with the highest minimum wage in the EU. On 1 April 2022, it stood at €2,313.38 for non-qualified workers over the age of 18 (€13.37/hour), and €2,776.05 for qualified workers.

However, as Statec told Delano in June, for a single man, the monthly minimum budget--including daily expenses and durable goods like furniture but excluding a mortage--was estimated to be €2,356. For a single woman it was €2,318 and for a childfree couple it was €2,950.

A study by the national statistics bureau also revealed that the number of workers in Luxembourg who joined a union , with an estimated 154,000 people--or 25%-- being members in 2019. Foreigners and young workers were less likely to be unionised, it also said.  

The European Council has to approve the directive in September. If the text is approved, the EU’s member states will have two years to implement it in national regulations.