Europe’s lowest paid workers have seen the value of their wages fall by up to 19 per cent this year, representing the biggest fall in real minimum wages this century, an ETUC analysis of Eurostat data has found.
Statutory minimum wages have risen by an average of 7,6% over the last year in the 21 EU countries which have one. But, in the same countries, the rate of inflation has increased by an average of 12,4%.
It means the real value of statutory minimum wages has fallen by an average of 4,8%, leaving millions of workers struggling to afford the most basic costs of living like food, rent and energy.
It is only the second time since 2000 that growth in real minimum wages has fallen below zero and this cut is considerably higher - at the height of austerity in 2012, real minimum wages growth was -0,7%.
Real statutory minimum wages have fallen most dramatically since last summer in Latvia (-19%), Czechia and Estonia (-10%), and Slovakia (-8%).
These developments have severely worsened the conditions of minimum wage workers across Europe, who were too often already unable to make end meet. Already before the start of the cost-of-living crisis, almost one worker in ten in the EU27 was at risk of poverty and 7 out of 10 minimum wage workers reported difficulty in making ends meet.
The 18 EU member states where real statutory minimum wages have fallen between Q2 2021 and Q2 2022
|
Country |
Nominal statutory minimum wage growth % |
Rate of inflation % |
Change to real statutory minimum wage % |
|
Latvia |
0 |
19,2 |
-19,2 |
|
Czechia |
6,5 |
16,6 |
-10 |
|
Estonia |
11,9 |
22 |
-10 |
|
Slovakia |
3,6 |
12,6 |
-8,9 |
|
Lithuania |
13,7 |
20,5 |
-6,7 |
|
Poland |
7,5 |
14,2 |
-6,7 |
|
Ireland |
2,9 |
9,6 |
-6,6 |
|
Netherlands |
3,2 |
9,9 |
-6,6 |
|
Slovenia |
4,9 |
10,8 |
-5,8 |
|
Bulgaria |
9,2 |
14,8 |
-5,5 |
|
Luxembourg |
5,0 |
10,3 |
-5,2 |
|
Malta |
0,9 |
6,1 |
-5,1 |
|
Spain |
5,2 |
10 |
-4,7 |
|
Portugal |
6,0 |
9 |
-2,9 |
|
Romania |
10,8 |
13 |
-2,1 |
|
Greece |
9,6 |
11,6 |
-1,9 |
|
Croatia |
10,2 |
12,1 |
-1,8 |
|
France |
5,8 |
6,5 |
-0,6 |
The analysis of Eurostat data by the ETUC comes ahead of the final vote on the directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU in the European Parliament tomorrow.
It also comes before the European Commission President’s State of the Union speech which the ETUC expects to contain a commitment to taking urgent additional measures to tackle the cost of living crisis, on the basis of the ETUC six-point plan.
The cost-of-living crisis has made the directive even more necessary. There is no excuse for Member States to wait two years to transpose the Directive, they should take action now.
The Directive will mean that:
- Members states will have to verify the adequacy of statutory minimum wages taking into account purchasing power and the cost of living;
- A duty on member states to promote collective bargaining and combat union busting and on countries with collective bargaining coverage below 80% to produce an action plan to support collective bargaining;
- The strengthening of the involvement of trade unions in the setting and updating of statutory minimum wages;
- A requirement for companies receiving public procurement contracts to respect the right to organise and collective bargaining in line with ILO Conventions 87 and 98.
Speaking ahead of the vote, ETUC Deputy General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“In most of the countries which have a statutory minimum wage, it is set so low that it left workers living at risk of poverty even before the cost-of-living crisis began.
“Now inflation, also driven by huge increases in profit margins, in addition to supply-side issues, has pushed the value of minimum wages down to a record low.
“It means that people who work long hours in tough jobs are struggling to afford food and rent never mind doing things many people take for granted like spending time with friends and family. Sometimes people are even struggling to afford transport to their own workplace.
“Members of the European Parliament need to show they’re on the side of those hardworking people and vote to ensure minimum wages can never ever leave people living in poverty.”
“The scale and urgency of the cost-of-living crisis is not being matched by the right mix of measures by the European institutions. It is counterproductive for the ECB to increase interest rates, this will make the cost-of-living crisis even worse for working people.
“This Directive is a key measure to help the most vulnerable. Additional urgent initiatives are needed on the basis of the ETUC six-point-plan, including immediate pay rises and targeted payments to help struggling families”.
Notes
Full data
