The tripartite agreement reached in September between the government, employers and unions will lead to an increase in Luxembourg’s social minimum wage.
Read also:Tripartite - Luxembourg’s social model
If the bill tabled in the Chamber of Deputies this December is agree on by MPs, the number will increase by 3.2% on 1 January 2023, which corresponds with the average increase in salaries between 2019 and 2021.
Set at €2,313.38 and €2,776.05 since 1 April, 2022, the minimum wage would climb as detailed below:
According to Eurostat, this once again confirms Luxembourg’s place with the highest minimum salary in Europe, ahead of Belgium (€1,842.28) and Ireland (€1,774.50). Germany (€1,744, according to Eurostat) and France (€1,678.95) are slightly lower on the European comparison list.
With the exception of civil servants, the government estimates that, as of 31 March this year, approximately 9% of employees in Luxembourg received a salary close to the qualified minimum social wage.
6.2% received the non-qualified minimum social wage.
That covers nearly 66,000 people in total, 36,000 of whom are residents of the Grand Duchy. This leaves about 30,000 cross-border workers with a minimum salary.
Roughly 16,300 people work in the commerce sector. The minimum social wage is also the norm in the hospitality sector, where 48.6% of employees are concerned (over 10,000 people). As a comparison, only 2.5% of people working in the finance or insurance business receive the minimum wage.
Raising the minimum wage would cost employers approximately €74.6 million more per year. There are voices of concern, however, that raising the minimum wage further could trigger more inflation and ultimately a higher cost of living.
Despite a higher wage, the poverty rate in Luxembourg has also increased.
Read also: Over €13/hr - Luxembourg has by far the highest minimum wage in EU
