Minimum wage: this is how it is in Europe
From €1.62 in Bulgaria to €11.97 in Luxembourg, to pass €10.03 in France and €9.19 in Germany. Still in Belgium it is €9.14, in the Netherlands it is €9.33, in Spain it is €6.09 and in the UK it is €9.54. Its value in Ireland is €9.80. Minimum wages exist in all EU member states. In some cases it is established by law, in others by collective bargaining. There is a statutory minimum wage in 21 countries (the amount of this minimum value varies widely, from €312 per month in Bulgaria to €2,142 per month in Luxembourg. While in six member states (Denmark, Italy, Cyprus, Austria, Finland and Sweden) minimum wage protection is provided exclusively Through collective agreements, according to an article by Unipresa.
European average? It equals 924 euros
According to Unipresa – a general federation of companies operating in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors – since the average monthly salary of European countries is around 924 euros, if the European minimum wage was calculated on the basis of this average, it would never happen. Finding the possibility of acceptance, since for many countries it will lead to an unsustainable increase in the cost of labor and, consequently, to a growth in the level of unemployment, an increase in irregular work and a loss of competitiveness.
In Italy, for 2.9 million workers, an annual increase of 1037 euros
By setting the statutory minimum wage at €9 gross per hour, the Italian wage level would become one of the highest among member states, with potentially serious repercussions and very high costs: In fact, the workers participating in the wage increase would equal 2.9 million, with an average annual wage increase of 1073 euros, with a total increase of $3.2 billion, and a total cost to businesses estimated at around 6. billion.. According to Unipresa analysis, the highest gross hourly minimum wage in Europe is recorded in Luxembourg and equal to €11.97, while the lowest is expected in Bulgaria and is €1.62, the amount of hourly minimum wage varies greatly from country to country. Country: Developing countries as well as some Mediterranean countries that are recovering from severe economic crises have an hourly minimum wage well below 5 euros, while countries with more advanced and consolidated industrialized economies fall above 9 euros.
Impact on small and medium businesses
This increase in labor costs will have a negative impact mainly on small and medium-sized enterprises, which will greatly reduce competitiveness, especially in international markets; On the other hand, the negative effects can be contained more for large companies, which tend to be more solid and with greater economic resources. In countries that have already introduced a legal minimum wage, the issue of low-wage workers and the prevalence of illegal practices, unfortunately, still persists, and this is despite the increase in technological controls on salary data until the implementation of practices such as Name and shame Companies that do not respect the legal minimum wage are publicly denounced.
The equation plus collective bargaining minus low-wage workers
The minimum wage in France is €10.03, in Germany €9.19, in Belgium €9.41, in the Netherlands €9.33, in Spain €6.09, in the UK €9.54, in England it is instead €8.21, and in Ireland it is worth €9.80 euro. streetIt is precisely the countries with the highest coverage of collective bargaining that have the lowest proportion of low-wage workers, lower wage inequality and higher minimum wages. In the current Italian regulatory system, the discipline of the criteria for calculating wages is entrusted to collective bargaining which has ensured over the years, in the majority of sectors of production, a satisfactory and decent minimum level of wages, in fact, in Italy, they have hardly felt the need (which came to the fore in 2019 By the yellow-green government) to adopt a minimum wage, as is done in other European countries, guaranteed by law.
The impossibility of a common European minimum wage
“At whatever level it is set, the minimum wage in Italy will have a particular impact on small and very small businesses in the south; with consequences that are not hard to imagine: a reduction of the workforce or, alternatively, a further recourse to the ‘undeclared'”. In Italy, the determination of wages is left to collective bargaining, and it has been emphasized that the Italian model of trade union relations is characterized by a high level of organizational pluralism for each productive sector, both on the part of workers and employers; therefore, for the legislator, in order to comply with the European directive, he can refer to the agreements National Collective » Comments of the National Adviser of Unipresa, Marco Pepe. “The differences in the determination of the minimum wage within the EU countries are quite evident, both at the general economic and social level (cost of living, productivity, competitiveness and development), and at the level of labor law in relation to the components of remuneration In terms of working hours, and starting from this situation, establishing a single, efficient, efficient and compliant monetary value throughout Europe seems almost fanciful.
Unemployment risks
“Indeed, since the average monthly wage for European countries is about 924 euros, if the European minimum wage is calculated on the basis of this average, you will never find the possibility of approval, as it will determine for many countries. An unsustainable increase in the cost of labor and, consequently, an increase in the level of unemployment, an increase in irregular work and a loss of competitiveness. Otherwise, if the threshold is set at a categorically lower level, the less economically advanced countries will retain some wiggle room to reach the set level, but with the risk of bargaining downward for rich-country workers compared to what they are. They are less affluent, ”explains Bibi.
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