Asked by the European Parliament’s Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) to rule on the legal basis for the Minimum Wages Directive, MEPs on the Committee on Legal Affairs (JURI) have issued an opinion supporting the legal basis proposed by the European Commission.
The JURI Committee, in its opinion adopted on 28 October (23 votes against 1 and 0 abstentions) and published on 3 November, confirms the analysis of the European Parliament Legal Service opinion of 28 September. According to the JURI Committee, the main objective of the proposal is to improve working conditions by establishing a framework for workers to access minimum wage protection.
Therefore, Article 153(2) (which details the different actions that the Union can take to support and complement Member States’ action in the social field), in conjunction with Article 153(1)(b) (which allows the Union to support and complement Member States’ action in the field of working conditions), is an “appropriate” legal basis for the proposal, say MEPs.
However, the JURI Committee considers that the reference to Article 153(2) of the TFEU could be replaced by a more specific reference to Article 153(2)(b) of the TFEU. The latter allows the EU to lay down minimum requirements by way of directives in the social field.
They agree that a “slight rewording” of Article 4 on the promotion of collective bargaining on wage setting is necessary in order not to go beyond the scope of Article 153(1)(b).
Similarly, MEPs confirm the need to reword Article 6, which provides that Member States may allow different rates of statutory minimum wage for specific groups of workers and a statutory deduction which reduces the remuneration paid to workers to a level below the statutory minimum wage.
The EMPL Committee will vote on its report on Thursday 11 November. The negotiating mandate to start the interinstitutional negotiations is expected to be presented to the plenary session on Monday 22 November.
On the EU Council side, negotiations are well underway. However, the trend is towards a strong relaxation of the text (see EUROPE 12818/14).
To consult the opinion: https://bit.ly/3bDl9eN (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)