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The MEPs assembled at the European Hemicycle in Strasbourg have decided to begin negotiations with the EU Council on an order guaranteeing a ‘fair’ minimum wage for all workers in the EU.
In the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs, Parliament approved 443 in favor, 192 against, and 58 abstentions. Negotiations may begin once the Council representing the member states has accepted its own position.
The draft order on the minimum wage, in line with the resolution adopted by the European Parliament, aims to “establish the minimum requirements for guaranteeing wages that provide decent living conditions for workers and their families.”
This proposal can be achieved by a legal minimum wage (the minimum wage allowed by law) or by allowing workers to negotiate their wages by bargaining with their employers.
Through this agreement, Parliament seeks to strengthen and expand collective bargaining by forcing member states, which make up less than 80% of the workforce, to take concrete steps to improve the tool.
He stressed the need to respect national rights and the autonomy of social partners in determining wages. The decision of the employment committee to begin negotiations with the council was announced at the start of the session in Strasbourg on Monday. More than 71 delegates, who opposed the decision before midnight on Tuesday, were added to the agenda for the vote on the order.