New position paper on a European minimum wage framework

The position paper argues that an ambitious common minimum wage framework would be essential to fight social dumping in the EU, prevent a race to the bottom, secure upward social convergence, ensure competitiveness and ultimately reflect the presence European Pillar of Social Rights in the economically and financially already well integrated EU single market.

It stresses that adequate minimum wages are an especially powerful tool to counter precarious employment – even if such a single tool for fairer pay is not sufficient on its own.

Considering that precariousness is about more than pay, further flanking efforts need to complement minimum wages in order to move towards more decent labour rights, social security, healthcare and accident prevention guarantees in so-far precarious employment.

The position paper also emphasises that any regulatory framework should not negatively impact collective bargaining and functioning agreements already established in the different EU countries. In this context, a minimum framework should ideally be established by the EU social partners; however, in the continued absence of an agreement it should be framed by the EU institutions by means of a legal act.

The full position is available in the resources section.