Debate: Adequate minimum wages in the European Union
Date: TUESDAY, 13 SEPTEMBER 2022
Speaker: Nicolas Schmit
Language: EN

Tomorrow, hopefully with the approval of this directive, this will become an historic moment for social Europe, but I would say for Europe. It is a crucial step towards the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. But above all, it is a very concrete message to all those millions of workers and the majority of women and young people who work hard and often earn little. And let’s remember the essential workers we liked to talk about during the COVID pandemic – many of them earning low wages, sometimes not even minimum wages.  This achievement could not be more timely. We are all confronted with the economic and social consequences of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. And in the current juncture, where inflation, spiralling energy and food prices and increasing living costs are affecting millions of households in Europe, adequate minimum wages are more important than ever.  The eroding purchasing power of low-income households and the risk of increases in poverty and inequality are a major cause of concern for the resilience of our societies and of our democracy. And in this context, tackling in-work poverty becomes even more pressing.  Ensuring that workers in the Union earn adequate minimum wages is essential to guaranteeing adequate working and living conditions, and to building fair, sustainable and inclusive economies and societies, as set out in principle 6 of the European pillar of social rights. Precisely, the pandemic showed us how much we rely on care workers, cleaners, delivery workers, shopkeepers, many of them women. Already in 2020, before the inflation that we see now, almost 9% of EU workers were at risk of in-work poverty and we owe them this directive.  The result of the trilogues is the good and balanced compromise on the table today. When implemented, the directive will establish an EU framework for the adequacy of statutory minimum wages, promoting collective bargaining, and I insist on the importance of the promotion and strengthening of collective bargaining in this directive and of enhancing the effective access of workers to minimum wage protection in the EU. This is also a very important element in the context of better and stronger social convergence – convergence between Member States in the Union.  It will introduce a combination of policy measures to improve minimum wage adequacy and increase access to minimum wage protection. And some measures apply only to those countries with statutory minimum wage-setting systems and others to all Members. And I repeat and insist that no Member State can be obliged to introduce a statutory minimum wage. Of course, the directive will fully respect the autonomy of the social partners, the specificities of national systems and national competences. It will also provide sufficient flexibility to Member States to adjust minimum wages, taking into account their social and economic conditions.  I want to thank you all and especially the co-rapporteurs and shadow rapporteurs and their teams for contributing to this important step to make social Europe a tangible reality for millions of workers in the EU.  The new rules on minimum wages will protect the dignity of work. They will make sure that work pays. And these are the words, by the way, of the President of the Commission, Madam von der Leyen, used in her first speech when she announced that the Commission would present such a proposal. We have delivered, and I hope, tomorrow, all together, we will deliver.