The 2022 EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages is under threat following a controversial legal opinion issued by the Advocate General at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The directive has already led to positive changes in many countries, with governments reassessing and improving minimum wages for millions of low-paid workers. It also includes obligations for member states to promote collective bargaining and prevent union-busting practices. However, the Advocate General’s non-binding opinion calls for the directive’s annulment, arguing that it oversteps the EU’s authority, advocating for increased competition based on lowering wages, contrary to the directive’s goal of avoiding unfair wage practices. The ETUC criticised the opinion, noting it disregards legal precedents and the European Social Charter which already obligates the EU and member states to promote fair wages and collective bargaining.
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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.