The European Court of Justice has upheld the validity of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, confirming nearly all of its core provisions while accepting Denmark’s challenge only in relation to two specific articles.
The Court confirmed all measures promoting collective bargaining, including the requirement for member states to submit action plans to increase collective bargaining coverage.
While the Court annulled Article 5(2), which set detailed criteria for assessing the adequacy of statutory minimum wages, it upheld other key provisions, such as Article 5(1), linking minimum wages to a “decent standard of living,” and Article 5(4), which establishes reference points for adequacy at 50% of the average wage and 60% of the median wage.
According to the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), these benchmarks remain essential tools for guiding fair minimum wage setting and protecting workers from in-work poverty.
ETUC General Secretary Esther Lynch said:
“This ruling confirms that the Minimum Wage Directive stands firm, the EU can and must act for fair wages. The core of the Directive remains intact, including the 50% and 60% decency thresholds. But by removing the article explaining how to measure adequacy, the Court made it even clearer that we need stronger, enforceable rules to make fair pay a reality.”
The ETUC urged member states to abandon their “wait-and-see” approach and fully implement the Directive, including raising minimum wage levels to meet adequacy criteria and adopting national action plans to raise collective bargaining coverage to 80%. Governments, it stressed, now have full legal certainty that the Directive is robust and must be enforced.
Most EU countries with statutory minimum wages remain bound by ILO Convention No. 131, which sets similar adequacy criteria, including cost of living, productivity levels, and economic conditions, and continues to apply at national level.
The ETUC also called on the European Commission to issue an immediate recommendation to support implementation, providing additional guidance and coordination tools to ensure adequate minimum wages and upward wage convergence across Europe.
“The Directive is strong, but it needs strong implementation,” Lynch added. “Workers need real wage increases and real bargaining power, not legal loopholes. Europe must ensure every worker earns a wage that meets the decency threshold and that collective bargaining coverage grows significantly.”
The ETUC further reminded that all EU countries are bound by the European Social Charter, which requires effective mechanisms to ensure fair and adequate pay and promote collective bargaining.
Finally, the ETUC expressed concern over the deletion of a clause that prevented using automatic indexation as a reason to lower statutory minimum wages, reminding member states that Article 16 of the Directive still prohibits any reduction or abolition of minimum wages.