EPSU sends its wholehearted support to the three Lithuanian trade union organisations organising the joint action on 10 November. A decent minimum wage and protection of existing working time restrictions are key elements of EPSU policy and vital to maintaining labour standards across the European Union.
EPSU affiliates around Europe have been lobbying hard to ensure that the Council of Ministers does not vote to undermine the provisions of the Working Time Directive and it is completely unacceptable that any national government or national employers' association should propose increasing the maximum working week to 60 hours.
Earlier this year the EPSU Executive Committee agreed to campaign against low pay and call for increases to minimum wages across Europe. A “European wage for Lithuanian employees” is exactly what this campaign is about, ensuring that the minimum wages in each country are set at a reasonable level based on average earnings in that country.
EPSU fully supports the demand to set the target for a minimum wage of 50% of the average wage as a first step in a campaign to achieve a decent minimum wage and notes that this target has been endorsed in law by Lithuania's neighbour Poland(1).
According to Eurostat, Poland's minimum wage is currently worth 35.1% of national average earnings, while Lithuania's minimum wage is 38.5% of the national average. The Polish law, introduced last year, requires that the statutory minimum wage is increased each year by the rate of inflation plus two-thirds of the percentage growth in GDP. This formula applies until the minimum wage reaches the 50% target.
- Log in to post comments