In a report supported by Özlem Demirel (The Left, Germany) and adopted with a slim majority (365 votes in favour to 118 against, with 208 abstentions) in plenary session on Wednesday 10 February, the European Parliament called for a minimum wage for all workers, including non-standard workers.
MEPs particularly stressed that the legal minimum wage in each Member State must be set above the poverty line, at 60% of the gross median standard of living. It is thought that establishing criteria of this type will help tackle the phenomenon of the working poor.
The European Parliament is therefore calling on the European Commission and the Member States to tackle mechanisms that exacerbate working poverty, such as undeclared overtime and zero hours contracts. However, as a result of a compromise, it is demanding that the minimum wage should always take competitiveness into account.
MEPs are also calling for an end to the practice of unpaid internships, despite strong opposition from the Central and Eastern European delegations of the Renew Europe group.
In addition, MEPs are calling for protection for workers on digital platforms, in the process sending a strong message to the Commission, which is preparing legislation on the issue (see EUROPE 12602/19). They nevertheless emphasise the key role that these same platforms play in helping people enter the labour market.
MEPs are calling for a post-2020 disability strategy to help people with disabilities enter the labour market with adequate social protection. The Commission is due to present its strategy on 3 March, together with the action plan for implementation of the European pillar of social rights.
On the subject of homelessness, the European Commission is invited to present a strategic framework for national strategies that links the working poor and the issue of homelessness.
Social protocol rejected
By way of contrast, the European Parliament rejected, by one vote (319 to 320, with 57 abstentions) the proposal to include a reference to inclusion of a social progress protocol in the European treaties in order to guarantee equal treatment of social rights on the one hand and the economic freedoms of the single market on the other. The EPP, Renew Europe and ECR groups voted overwhelmingly against the proposal.
Minimum wage at the centre of tensions
The minimum wage was a polarising issue in the report, both on the right of the political spectrum and on the left, where the Scandinavian delegations, including the shadow rapporteur Marianne Vind (S&D, Denmark), are strongly opposed to the Commission’s proposal, as they believe it might disrupt national collective bargaining (see EUROPE 12615/4).
The aim was for the report (see EUROPE 12637/28) to be adopted ahead of the European Commission’s presentation of a proposal to introduce minimum wages in the Member States. But, we are told, the project’s opponents tried to slow the negotiations down to avoid strengthening the Commission’s proposal by adding the influence of the European Parliament. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)