Negotiators from the European Parliament and the Member States reached an agreement last night on a European minimum wage, which varies in height from country to country. From now on you should be able to ‘lead a decent life’, according to Parliament negotiator Agnes Jongerius.
The directive lays down the minimum wage requirements in a country. Among other things, it looks at the purchasing power of employees and the relationship with other wages in a country. “People should be able to buy new clothes with a minimum wage, participate in the sports club, or go on a weekend trip,” explains PvdA MEP Agnes Jongerius.
As chief negotiator on behalf of the European Parliament, she is very satisfied with the agreement. ‘This European law gives a ‘push-up’ to wages in the Netherlands and throughout Europe. The home helpers, the warehouse workers and the postmen quickly earn a fairer minimum wage,” she writes her blog† She speaks of ‘a trend break with Europe just after the banking crisis’. “From now on, we’ll push wages up.”
‘Dutch minimum wage to 14 euros’
According to the provisional agreement, EU member states must from now on assess whether their minimum wages are adequate, for example against the international standard of at least 50 percent of the average gross wage and 60 percent of the median (half earn more, half less) gross salary. Together with 22 other European countries, the Netherlands now does not meet that standard. ‘A clear signal from Europe that we must increase the minimum hourly wages in the Netherlands to 14 euros,’ says Jongerius. The Dutch minimum wage is currently 10.48 euros gross per hour.
The Council (the Member States) speaks in a press release of a revision of minimum wages ‘at least every two years’ and in Member States with automatic indexation every four years. Employers and employees should be involved in that review. Member States where collective wage negotiations comprise less than 80 percent of employees must draw up an action plan with concrete measures and a timetable to increase that percentage. Employers who default, according to the Council, will have the labor inspectorate and other supervisors behind the pants.
EU council president France was keen to reach an agreement quickly so that President Macron can still take advantage of it in the parliamentary elections later this month. The French minister of social affairs will present the agreement to his EU colleagues on 16 June, the plenary vote in the European Parliament is scheduled for September. The 27 Member States then have another two years to transpose the European measure into national law.
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