BusinessEurope, SMEunited and CEEP are not in favour of binding EU action to encourage a ‘fair’ minimum wage at national level, according to their responses made public on Tuesday 8 September.
For BusinessEurope, SMEunited and CEEP (but also Ceemet), the European Union does not have the competence to introduce a binding legal instrument to regulate minimum wages. For employers, these issues fall within the competence of the national social partners and Member States. In their view, the Commission should under no circumstances opt for a Directive, as this would by definition transfer power to the legislator and the courts and would risk exceeding the EU’s competences.
For employers, if the Commission wished to act despite everything, only a EU Council Recommendation could respect the role and autonomy of the social partners, but also domestic jurisdiction. The ‘European Semester’ could then be the instrument for monitoring salary criteria, they say.
CEEP adds that due to the impact of Covid-19, setting a minimum wage above “equilibrium points" would further marginalize and "possibly push the most vulnerable groups (...) towards the informal labour market”.
The regions are also concerned. The Council of European Municipalities and Regions, in a response published on Friday 4 September, also expressed “serious concerns”. As employers, local authorities fear that the legislation that the institution intends to introduce will encroach on the autonomy of the social partners in wage bargaining and even create a downward convergence of wages around minimum standards, which is the exact opposite of the objective stated by the European Commission.
Trade unions are, on the contrary, in favour of legislative intervention at European level (see EUROPE 12553/22).
To consult the answers of the employers: BusinessEurope (https://bit.ly/2Zi4l70 ), SMEunited (https://bit.ly/2GKazGJ ), CEEP (https://bit.ly/3h68GAl ), Ceemet (https://bit.ly/35iJlBc ), and CEMR (https://bit.ly/336bDfv ). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)