The ETUC has welcomed statements from European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that she supports collective bargaining and decent minimum wages, however, it wants to see the concrete details which are not expected to be revealed before 28 October. Von der Leyen's State of the European Union speech refers to the problem of low pay while in an interview in Sweden she underlined her support for collective bargaining. She also stressed that the Commission would guarantee protection for strong collective bargaining systems like those in Sweden and would not force the introduction of national minimum wages where they don't currently exist. The ETUC is discussing an action plan to lobby EU institutions and Member States to ensure that any directive on collective bargaining and minimum wages meets the key criteria set out in its reply to the second stage consultation on fair minimum wages. Researchers Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten have written an article explaining the background to the thinking on the ETUC's minimum wage threshold.
ETUC wants concrete action from European Commission on pay and bargaining
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