On Tuesday 7 June, the European Parliament and the European Council agreed on the new EU rules to set adequate minimum wages in the EU, as provided by national law and/or collective agreements. The provisional political agreement will now have to be approved by the European Parliament in plenary and, and by the European Council.

Commenting on the agreement, Valeria Ronzitti, SGI Europe General Secretary, said:

“SGI Europe welcomes the result achieved by the Council and Parliament’s negotiators because it includes one of our crucial demands: making sure that Member States in which the minimum wage is defined exclusively via collective agreements are not obliged to introduce a national scheme nor to make these agreements universally applicable.”

“We also welcome that the agreement now makes the involvement of social partners a fundamental feature of national minimum wages frameworks. Most importantly, it recognises in a transversal way that Member States should promote the strengthening of the capacity of social partners to engage in collective bargaining.”

“We will now further analyse the compromise and remain vigilant on points such as the indicative reference values, the list of criteria, the monitoring and control measures, as it is crucial that they respect the autonomy of social partners.”

“We call on Member States to use the tools provided by the directive to engage in structural cooperation with social partners: This is especially critical in the present economic context, with high inflation pressuring wage negotiations. Our members are committed to making the best out of this new framework, in line with the different industrial relations systems across Europe.”

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