"Policy recommendations
In 2024, there were substantial nominal increases in statutory minimum wages in the majority of Member States of the European Union (EU), which ensured minimum wage increases in real terms. Two factors in particular were instrumental in this: first, the still high levels of inflation across the EU, which made safeguarding the purchasing power of minimum wage-earners a political priority; and second, the fact that many Member States were already using the recently adopted Adequate Minimum Wage Directive's ‘double decency threshold' (defined in terms of the indicative reference values of 60% of the median wage and 50% of the average wage) even before its transposition into national law, which is not due until November this year. In order to ensure adequate minimum wages in the sense of the Directive's double decency threshold, however, the following policy pointers should be considered:
– Currently, only Slovenia meets the double decency threshold. Therefore further substantial minimum wage increases are needed across the EU in order to realise the Directive's overarching objectives of promoting social convergence and reducing wage inequality and in-work poverty through adequate minimum wages.
– The most effective way of achieving adequate minimum wages would be to follow the example of Bulgaria by incorporating (elements of) the double decency threshold in national law. European Economic, Employment and Social Policy 2024.02 | March ETUI Policy Brief – Further measures should be put in place to ensure that a minimum wage that meets the double decency threshold really ensures a decent standard of living, as foreseen by the Directive. Based on a country-specific basket of goods and services, Member States should therefore examine whether a minimum wage set at 60% of the median wage and 50% of the average wage is sufficient to be able to afford this basket of goods and services.
– One reason why a minimum wage that meets the double decency threshold may still not be sufficient to ensure a decent living standard is the fact that wages overall are very low and so necessarily also median and average wages.
– Member States should therefore immediately use the Directive's 80% threshold for adequate collective bargaining coverage as a trigger to develop action plans to increase collective bargaining coverage in particular by promoting sectoral collective bargaining as a means of raising the overall wage structure."

Support: Digital

ISBN (PDF) : 2031-8782