The second stage consultation of social partners on the possibility of taking European action to facilitate the establishment of fair minimum wages in the EU has now come to an end on Friday 4 September. One of the objectives is to determine whether or not it is appropriate to present a directive at a European level.
“After the end of the second stage consultation of social partners, the European Commission will carefully evaluate the responses that they receive from the social partners. The European Commission intends to present a proposal before the end of 2020”, said the European Commission.
At the time of writing, only the trade unions have communicated and submitted their position to the European Commission. Unsurprisingly, the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) supports the plan to present a directive (see EUROPE 12403/5).
“The minimum wage exposes workers to poverty in 17 Member States, something which goes against the very purpose of a minimum wage”, said ETUC Deputy Secretary General Esther Lynch, who wants to put an end to what she says is a “scandal”. The ETUC is therefore expecting strong commitments to be made by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her State of the Union address to the European Parliament later this month.
The European action that has been proposed to encourage the establishment of decent minimum wages remains a highly sensitive political issue, particularly for Scandinavian Member States. The European Commission will certainly have to tread a fine line in order to respect both the principle of subsidiarity and the autonomy of the social partners at a national level. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)