The Chamber of Employees has rejected the minister’s draft law, aimed at implementing the minimum wage component of the directive. The dispute, which has persisted for weeks, centres on the draft’s failure to raise the minimum wage, despite it falling short of the directive’s recommended levels.
The directive outlines various reference points to determine whether the minimum wage allows for a decent standard of living. It suggests that the minimum wage should either represent 60% of the median salary or 50% of the average wage. Based on these criteria, Luxembourg’s gross minimum wage would need to increase by 3.1% or 26%, respectively.
Mischo’s draft law proposes to assess factors such as purchasing power, wage distribution, and productivity growth when evaluating the minimum wage. However, it does not include specific comparative benchmarks, as recommended by the directive.
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A key point of contention is the separation of the minimum wage from collective agreements in the implementation process. The directive encourages raising collective agreement coverage to 80% to ensure higher minimum wages. Unions have opposed Mischo’s refusal to allow them continued rights to negotiate and sign collective agreements. This led to protests during the recent meeting of the Standing Committee on Labour and Employment.
Adding to the tension, the labour ministry failed to send the Chamber of Employees a copy of the draft law, which was submitted to the Chamber at the end of August. The Chamber of Employees was forced to intervene by drafting their own notice in response.
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LCGB president Patrick Dury announced that unions have written to European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, arguing that Luxembourg’s approach to implementing the directive does not align with its original intent.
