The new Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Nicolas Schmit, assured on the occasion of the 2nd day of the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO), Tuesday 10 December, that the instrument introducing a fair minimum wage would be presented on 14 January 2020 to open a first wave of consultation.
A second round of discussions will take place in April. The timetable is expected to be intense, as the Commission is expected to present a legislative initiative within the first 100 days of its mandate.
“A first meeting is scheduled for 14 January with the presentation of both a first proposal on the minimum wage and a first communication on our social policy initiatives, which covers all the proposals that will come over the coming months and years”, the Commissioner confirmed at the press conference.
Mr Schmit announced that he would meet the responsible Ministers and social partners from Denmark on Wednesday 11 December and from Sweden the following day. The objective is to try to clarify the Commission’s project and clear the ground. Indeed, these two Member States do not set a minimum wage, which exclusively leaves the negotiations between the social partners to negotiate, and have expressed their reluctance during the debate in the EU Council on the draft announced by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“I have already explained on many occasions [...]: we want a system that respects the traditions and cultures of national systems. In countries where wages are defined with very broad coverage by collective agreement, we will not intervene, weaken or undermine this system”, Mr Schmit said, recalling that collective bargaining was the Commission’s preferred system. Discussions will also be intense with the States of Central and Eastern Europe, we are told.
When questioned by EUROPE on the legal basis on which the legal instrument could be based, the Commissioner indicated that it would be Article 153 of the TFEU, related to working conditions (Article 153, §1b of the TFEU). Not surprisingly, the legal basis would require a decision by qualified majority, not unanimity. The directive would be favoured in the corridors of the European Commission, we are told in the margins of the EU Council.
Other actions in view in the short term
In addition, Mr Schmit announced that on 4 March, the Commission would present a skills agenda, which will be linked to the renewal of industrial policy.
He also indicated that he would be working on the revision of the Youth Guarantee. The goal here is to take into account the changing economic situation in certain regions and to take better account of vulnerable people (people with disabilities and young people not working, not in education or training), as well as to provide as many people as possible with basic digital skills to facilitate their integration into the labour market.
The Commissioner will launch a wide-ranging consultation on the European pillar of social rights and in particular the conditions of workers on digital platforms, in close collaboration with the Executive Vice-President for Digital Affairs, Margrethe Vestager and the Commissioner for the Internal Market, Thierry Breton.
Occupational health and safety. On the same day, ministers adopted conclusions in which they called for the adoption of a new strategic framework for health and safety, taking into account in particular psychosocial risks, but also musculoskeletal disorders. In addition, they adopted conclusions to better integrate vulnerable people (people with disabilities, older workers, low-skilled people, the long-term unemployed) into the labour market.
European semester and social dimension. Ministers also discussed, at the working lunch, how to modernise the budgetary process for the European semester to better reflect UN sustainable development objectives. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)