The European Parliament gave a green light this Wednesday to a community directive setting a standard minimum wage deemed adequate in the European Union to ensure decent living and working conditions. This step aligns earnings with the cost of living and aims to lift overall welfare within the union.
In its formal statement, the Parliament noted that the law, which also seeks to bolster collective bargaining among member states, passed with 505 votes in favor, 92 against and 44 abstentions. The vote reflects broad support for a framework that ties wage floors to national laws or binding collective agreements while reinforcing social protections for workers across the bloc.
The directive focuses on improving living and working conditions for all EU workers, intending to spur economic and social progress by laying down minimum requirements that guarantee an adequate wage through national statutes or negotiated agreements.
It also strengthens the reach of minimum wage protections by extending coverage to more workers, as highlighted by the European Parliament.
The rule will apply to all individuals who have an employment contract or an employment relationship within the European Union, ensuring everyone benefits from baseline protections.
Countries where minimum wage protections currently rely solely on collective agreements will not be forced to universalize such conventions immediately. The new framework preserves member state authority while urging them to ensure wages allow workers to live decently considering local living costs and overall salary levels.
The directive allows member states to refer to a basket of goods and services at real prices or to use 60 percent of the median gross wage and 50 percent of the average gross wage when assessing adequacy. This approach provides flexibility to reflect different economic contexts across nations.
The Parliament stressed that sectoral and intersectoral collective bargaining remains a core element for achieving an adequate minimum wage. This emphasis aims to promote wage-setting practices that reflect varied industries and cross-sector collaboration, reinforcing a robust social dialogue at the national level.
As part of the plan, countries with collective agreement coverage below 80 percent should craft an action plan to boost coverage with input from social partners, ensuring that workers across sectors gain protection and a level of wage security that reduces precarious employment.
Member States will also need to establish a compliance system to enforce the directive and address issues such as abusive subcontracting, fraudulent self-employment, undeclared overtime, or increased workloads. The European Parliament urged reliable inspection measures, controls and on-site checks to verify adherence.
Workers, their representatives and unions will be entitled to compensation for non-compliance with the rules. This enforcement mechanism aims to deter violations and safeguard the integrity of wage protections across the union.
The European Parliament and member states, as co-legislators, reached an agreement on the law in June, and this consensus was approved during today’s plenary session in Strasbourg. The text now requires formal approval by the EU Council and publication in the Official Journal to become law.
Once adopted, member states will have two years to align national laws with the directive. Parliament noted that Luxembourg, Ireland and Germany currently report the highest minimum wages within the union, while Bulgaria, Latvia and Estonia report among the lowest. In the EU, 21 member states set a minimum wage by law, while six others—Austria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, Italy and Sweden—continue to determine wage levels through collective bargaining.