Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU was published on 19 October 2022 and must be transposed by 15 November 2024. The directive aims to ensure that workers across the EU are protected by adequate minimum wages, allowing for a decent living wherever they work.

The directive includes three sets of measures. One of its goals is to increase the number of workers covered by collective bargaining on wage setting. This will require Ireland to develop an action plan to enhance collective bargaining coverage by the end of 2025. Ensuring that minimum wages are set at adequate levels is the second set of measures. The directive requires countries with statutory minimum wages, as in Ireland, to put in place clear and stable criteria for minimum wage setting and indicative reference values to guide the assessment of adequacy and to involve social partners in the regular and timely updates of minimum wages. Regarding the third set of measures, the directive provides for improved enforcement and monitoring of the minimum wage protection established in each country. The directive introduces reporting by member states of their minimum wage protection data to the European Commission.

The directive will be transposed into Irish law. Last year, our Department participated in the expert group on the directive's transposition that was established by the European Commission. Our Department has received legal advice on the minimum wage elements of the directive and work is under way to ensure transposition by the deadline of November 2024. The legal advice is that Ireland’s current minimum wage-setting framework, namely, the Low Pay Commission, is largely already in compliance with the provisions of the directive.

A technical group has been established with departmental officials and the social partners to examine what is required to implement the collective bargaining elements set out in Article 4 of the directive. My Department has requested legal advice as to whether any legislative changes are required to transpose this article into domestic legislation by the transposition deadline at the end of the year.

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