UNI Europa to CJEU: Uphold the EU Minimum Wage Directive

UNI Europa, the European trade union federation representing over 7 million service workers across Europe, expresses its deep concern at the recent opinion of the Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). He proposes the annulment of the entire EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages after a case was brought forward by two member states [Case C-19/23]. Adopted in 2022, the directive has been crucial for promoting fair wages and strengthening collective bargaining, especially in the services sectors.

The advocate general’s recommendations are stark. Effectively, he proposes to reduce the EU’s ability to promote fair pay and collective bargaining. They remain matters only for national legislation which, in turn, is subject to the EU’s neoliberal single market rules. If followed by the court, the case threatens to have a similar chill effect on pro-worker political action as the Viking judgement almost two decades ago, which massively undermined collective bargaining and pro-EU sentiment.

His opinion, even before any ruling, threatens to kill the positive political dynamic that the directive has created with its 80 per cent target for collective bargaining coverage. Since its approval, the directive has empowered workers and their unions across Europe, in particular throughout Central and Eastern Europe as well as Ireland.

The advocate general’s argument is particularly sour given that EU policies and directives over the past decades have contributed to the erosion – or often direct destruction – of collective bargaining structures in various member states. Instead, collective bargaining should be treated as a cornerstone of ensuring fair wages and decent working conditions. In the services sectors in particular, workers face particular challenges to collective bargaining – not least due to dispersed employment, precarious conditions and companies’ low-cost strategies.

An initial assessment by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) of the opinion points out that it fails to take into consideration, not only the overall objective of the directive of avoiding unfair competition on the basis of low wages, but also a number of legal precedents supporting the EU’s competence to regulate on aspects of protecting pay. In addition, the entirety of the European Social Charter is ignored, which requires the EU and member states to promote fair wages and collective bargaining.

Oliver Roethig, Regional Secretary of UNI Europa, commented: “Collective bargaining must be promoted, especially in the service sectors. The annulment of this directive would be a major setback for all workers in Europe. We expect the CJEU to uphold its longstanding case law and confirm the directive in its entirety, in line with the legal opinions of the Parliament, the Council, the Commission and the vast majority of member states, recognising its crucial role in promoting social progress and protecting workers’ rights across Europe.”

Photo: Transparency International, Flickr