The Slovenian Presidency of the EU Council is now targeting the Employment and Social Policy Council (EPSCO) on 6 December to set a general approach on the framework directive for adequate minimum wages, according to information gleaned on Tuesday 21 September.
The Slovenian Presidency was initially aiming for an agreement between the Member States by the EPSCO Council on 15 October. However, negotiations are not far enough along to expect an agreement, several sources confirmed. According to two sources, the big unknown remains the German position, which is still subject to the results of the 26 September parliamentary elections.
National delegations discussed the text in the Social Working Group on Monday 20 and Tuesday 21 September (see EUROPE 12793/9). Discussions are still moving towards a softening of the text. Member States with a collective agreement coverage of less than 70% will have to put in place measures to strengthen social dialogue (but the 70% target is no longer a target in itself).
A topic of discussion at present is reportedly the set of reference values for estimating the adequacy of the statutory minimum wage. Some would like to extend the current benchmarks to take into account a whole range of parameters.
The next meeting of the working group is expected to take place in the second half of October, we were told. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)