Dawn of a new era?

In 2024, there were substantial nominal increases in statutory minimum wages in the majority of Member States of the European Union (EU), which ensured minimum wage increases in real terms. Two factors in particular were instrumental in this: first, the still high levels of inflation across the EU, which made safeguarding the purchasing power of minimum wage-earners a political priority; and second, the fact that many Member States were already using the recently adopted Adequate Minimum Wage Directive’s ‘double decency threshold’ (defined in terms of the indicative reference values of 60% of the median wage and 50% of the average wage) even before its transposition into national law, which is not due until November this year. In order to ensure adequate minimum wages in the sense of the Directive’s double decency threshold, however, the following policy pointers should be considered:– Currently, only Slovenia meets the double decency threshold. Therefore further substantial minimum wage increases are needed across the EU in order to realise the Directive’s overarching objectives of promoting social convergence and reducing wage inequality and in-work poverty through adequate minimum wages.