As negotiations on a new directive on an EU minimum wage framework proceed, Eurostat published first data of the year on the national minimum wage rates of the 21 Member States that have statutory minimum wages; data on six Member States that have minimum wages through collective agreements were not included in the data set.

The statistics show that large disparities among the Member States persist. NineMember States, located in the east of the EU, have minimum wages below €700 per month, six Member States, located in the east and south of the Union, have minimum wages between €730 and €1,126, while in six further countries in central and western Europe statutory minimum salaries range between €1,500 and €2,257.

It is noteworthy that the highest minimum wage (Luxembourg) is almost 7 times higher than the lowest (Bulgaria). Moreover, even after adjusting national statutory wages to price differences across countries and expressing them in terms of purchasing power parities (PPPs), it appears that relative minimum pay is up to three times higher in countries such as Luxembourg and Germany than in countries such as Bulgaria or Latvia. As a general trend, minimum wages are relatively higher in Western Member States than in Eastern and Southern Member States

In a recent resolution, CESI expressed its support for the initiative of the European Commission to establish a framework that will ensure adequate wages in the Member States, noting that the new directive must:

-cover the bogus self–employed because they are de facto workers and should be recognized and protected as such,

-apply also to the public sector (but exclude civil servants falling under the so–called alimentation principle),

-promote collective bargaining and protect the role of social partners and trade unions in wage setting, and

-prevent Member States from applying exemptions for minimum wages at their discretion.

CESI Secretary General Klaus Heeger said: “We need adequate and poverty-preventing minimum wages for every worker in precarious employment, in all sectors. The Single Market provides us with great opportunities regarding the free movement of capital, persons, goods and services, but it must always consider the interests of workers and citizens, because, otherwise, it can open doors to social dumping and social inequalities. The social disparities among the Member States that arise from widely differing relative minimum wages are unacceptable and a European approach that will bring upward covergence in this regard is extremely important.”