Rents are 40% of the national legal minimum wage in 11 Member States, according to a study by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) published on Monday 8 November.
Spain (where 54% of the national minimum wage is spent on rent), Bulgaria (53%), Luxembourg (51%) and Hungary (50%) are particularly affected by this phenomenon. In contrast, the proportion of the minimum wage devoted to rent remains lower in Malta (20%), Lithuania (25%), Slovenia (27%), Slovakia (28%) and the Czech Republic (29%).
According to trade union calculations, the legal minimum wage is set below the poverty line (60% of the national median wage) and below 50% of the national average wage in 20 Member States.
This trend would increase energy poverty. Eight percent of the EU population is reportedly unable to adequately heat their homes, according to another Eurostat study.
According to the trade unions, the draft Directive on minimum wages (see other news) does not remedy this situation, as the calculation of statutory minimum wages does not take into account the real cost of living.
The Confederation hopes that the text will be amended by MEPs in this regard when the draft report is voted on in the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs on Thursday 11 November (see EUROPE 12802/17). (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)