EU Sources - Real and substantial minimum wage growth - January 31, 2026

Minimum wage growth remains real and substantial for 2026, according to an article published by Eurofound. Many EU Member States with a statutory or national minimum wage have continued to apply more structural uprates, with the aim of reaching a higher percentage value of actual (average or median) wages. The most likely driver of this is the Minimum Wage Directive and its stipulation that countries must adhere to ‘indicative reference values that guide their assessment of adequacy’. Overall, 2026 looks likely to be a good year for many workers on the minimum wage, as they’ll see their purchasing power grow.

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For more information, please contact Paul de Beer or Oana Ciuca, De Burcht (Scientific Bureau for the Dutch Trade Union Movement) p.t.debeer@uva.nl or the Head of communications at the ETUI, Mehmet Koksal mkoksal@etui.org. For previous full issues of the Collective bargaining newsletter please visit https://www.etui.org/Newsletters/Collective-bargaining-newsletter or consult the archive with all articles in our database at www.cbnarchive.eu.
You may find further information on the ETUI at www.etui.org.