ETUC stresses need for action on minimum wages

A new report from the ETUC, as part of its Pay Rise campaign, shows that minimum wage rates across Europe need to rise significantly just to reach an official measure of low pay (60% of the national median wage as used by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development). Minimum wages in Estonia, Czech Republic and Spain need some of the largest increases to reach the low pay threshold - 46%, 51% and 62% respectively. The ETUC argues that national governments need to sit down with trade unions and employers to discuss how to reach the target.

The FPSU trade union confederation has called on the government to raise the minimum wage to keep it in line with calculations of a living wage. It argues that in 2017 the two-stage increase of the minimum wage to UAH 3200 (EUR 104) was positive for both the standard of living and economic growth. However, this January's increase to UAH 3723 (EUR 121) was inadequate to keep pace with the living wage which had already risen to UAH 4011 (EUR 130) and was at UAH 4213 (EUR 137) by April. According to the FPSU around 20% of workers are classified as poor and the average wage at EUR 262 is only

(February 2017) The Eurofound research agency has published a new analysis of minimum wage rates across the EU noting the increase in rates, particularly across Eastern Europe. The article confirms, however, that there is still a wide range of rates across the continent, ranging from EUR 1999 in Luxembourg to EUR 238 in Bulgaria. Of the 22 EU countries with statutory minimum wages all have seen an increase in real terms since 2010 with the exception of Greece where the Troika pressured a previous government to cut the rate substantially.