Most European governments have failed to meet the deadline to put the minimum wage directive into national law – and some are actively working against the aims of the directive.
More than 20 million people should get a pay rise if the directive is properly implemented by member states, with minimum wages which meet the cost-of-living and more workers covered by collectively bargained wages.
The ‘double decency’ threshold - 60% of the median wage and 50% of the average wage – contained in the directive is already having a positive impact on minimum wage setting in many member states, according to research by the European Trade Union Institute.
But information provided by affiliates of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) as part of the ‘Wage Up’ campaign shows that most EU countries have failed to meet the November 15 transposition deadline. At a time when there is growing discontent about reduced real income, enforcing this legislation is the first major test for the incoming Commission.
National trade unions say there is a “lack of political will” among some governments to implement the landmark directive:
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Netherlands: “In the Netherlands, the implementation deadline will not be met. What is even worse is that the implementation legislation proposed by the government is falling short. It does not meet the requirements stemming from the Directive. The European Commission should immediately act upon this and push the Dutch government to set this straight” - FNV
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France: “The main problem, in our view, is the real lack of political will on the part of the French government to work with trade unions and employers' organisations on an ambitious transposition of the Directive. The government considers that French law is already compliant and that there is nothing substantial to add or amend.” – CGT
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Poland: “There is no chance that it will be done by the end of this year. From the trade unions' point of view, the problem is first and foremost that in particular the draft Act on Collective Agreements does not contain too ambitious provisions that could fundamentally improve collective bargaining coverage.” - NSZZ SOLIDARNOSC
Incredibly, unions have also highlighted examples of national governments taking measures that will lower wages and collective bargaining coverage.
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Czechia: “The Government, without consulting social partners, has introduced an amendment to the Labour Code that abolished the concept of ‘guaranteed wages’ for workers of the private sector. It means that workers from the private sector would now get less because the new general Minimum Wage would be below the current guaranteed wage minimum.” – CMKOS
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Luxembourg: “The Labour Minister is trying to undermine the objectives of the directive by opening the way for non-union delegates to negotiate collective agreements in the absence of trade unions with national representativeness. This is in fact, a targeted attack on trade unions by the Luxembourg government, with the clear aim of reducing their influence.” - OGBL and LCGB
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Latvia: The Government are trying to “introduce the right to withdraw from the collective agreements unilaterally and delete the right to use collective agreement as a decisive factor in public procurement competition. This clearly opposes the objectives of the Minimum wage directive.”- LBAS
Responding to the findings, ETUC Confederal Secretary Tea Jarc said:
“People who can’t afford to put the heating on this winter despite working hard every day will not understand why their government has not made it a priority to implement the minimum wage directive.
“The minimum wage directive has the potential to be a gamechanger if it is properly implemented, not only ensuring basic rates of pay meet the cost of living but also that more people benefit from genuinely fair wages negotiated through collective bargaining.
“That’s why it is shocking that so many governments failed to deliver on the promises made to working people two years ago. Disgracefully, some are even trying to undermine fair pay and collective bargaining.
“National governments need to work with trade unions to fully deliver on the promise of the minimum wage directive. If they continue failing to do so, the Commission should enforce it.
“The Commission’s credibility with working people rests on whether the promises they have made are delivered and make a tangible difference to their daily lives.”
