The European Commission announced on Wednesday 3 June the launch of the second stage consultation of the social partners on an instrument to guarantee a fair and just minimum wage for European workers.
“Based on the replies received (during the first phase of consultation – see EUROPE 12403/5), the Commission concluded that there is a need for further EU action”, said the Commission in a press release, recalling once again that the objective is not to set a uniform minimum wage at European level, but to create the conditions to ensure decent wages for European citizens.
“One in six workers is classified as low-wage earners in the EU, and the majority of them are women,” said Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit, pointing out that it was often these same workers who “kept our societies and economies alive when all else had to stop” during the Covid-19 crisis.
The social partners will have until 4 September to respond to the consultation on what form – non-legislative or legislative – the initiative should take, such as a directive in the field of working conditions.
Wage gaps widened by Covid-19
For the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), the health crisis caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus has aggravated the wage gap in Europe, making the implementation of such an instrument all the more urgent.
Nearly 40% of workers in the EU say they are in a more difficult situation than before the crisis, and this proportion is over 40% in 13 Member States (Italy, Spain, Poland, Romania, Portugal, Croatia, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Slovakia, Greece, Hungary, Cyprus and Malta).
Just under 50% of workers report that their working time has decreased since the beginning of the crisis, and this proportion is over 50% in 10 Member States (Italy, Spain, France, Poland, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, Greece, Cyprus and Malta), causing a sharp loss of income.
In mid-May, Portugal, Spain and Italy called for the creation of a European Minimum Income Scheme to minimise the social impact of the Covid-19 crisis (see EUROPE 12484/30).
To read the second phase consultation document: https://bit.ly/3dvTxay (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)