© Reuters. Europe reacts to inflation: the minimum wage in the Netherlands will increase by 10%
| Nitzan Zvi Cohen, Devar News
The Dutch government announced this month its intention to raise the minimum wage in the country by 10% already in January, following the increase in the country which reached 17.1% in September.
At the beginning of this month, European Union ministers approved the directive to promote an adequate minimum wage in all countries of the organization, in a process that is expected to take about two years. The workers’ organizations demand a faster implementation of the move.
The European Union directive also requires member states that already have a statutory minimum wage to promote processes that will ensure that it is adequate, and to establish a policy that examines it frequently in relation to changing events such as inflation. The Union recommends setting the minimum wage at 60% of the median (gross) wage or half of the average wage – a higher threshold than the minimum wage today in most member states. The promotion of the move is expected to push for an increase in the minimum wage in Europe in the coming years for about 25 million workers, which according to some estimates may reach about 20%.
However, the highest in Europe, which characterizes the period after the Corona crisis and is accelerated as a result of the increase in energy prices and the consequences of the war in Ukraine, is currently causing a decrease in the real minimum wage in most countries. That is why the European workers’ organizations are calling for a faster implementation of the directive by the member states.
“There is no excuse for member states to wait two years to provide decent wages,”
Esther Lynch of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) told the Euroactive website.
“The cost of living crisis requires governments to help the lowest-wage workers immediately.”
The price index in the Eurozone registers an annual increase of 10%, while in some EU countries the inflation rate reaches 20% or more. The confederation estimates that the average real value of the minimum wage in Europe has decreased by 5%, while in some countries the erosion reaches about 20%.
Read the full article on the Devar news site