site.btaMinimum Wage in EU Member States Should Meet Workers' Needs, Report Says

Sofia, June 22 (BTA) - The European Social Observatory recommends in a report that the minimum wage in EU member states should correspond to the cost of living and should be large enough to meet the people's needs. The report is based on a study commissioned by the Workers' Group of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and reviews the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights. It was unveiled by EESC Workers' Group President Gabriele Bischoff in Sofia on Friday. The news conference was also attended by trade union leaders Plamen Dimitrov and Dimiter Manolov.

The three are taking part in an extraordinary meeting of the EESC Workers Group in Sofia which is discussing the performance of the outgoing Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council in the field of social affairs and future challenges to building a social Europe for all.

According to the report, a decent minimum wage will solve the problems of full-time workers who still live in poverty.

The minimum wage in many EU member states is below the cost of living, which entails negative economic and social consequences, such as the existence of "the working poor" and low labour quality and productivity. The report calls for an adequate estimate of the percentage of people who are at risk of poverty, which is important for setting minimum wage targets in the member states.

Bischoff said the Bulgarian Presidency of the EU Council has unblocked two important initiatives: about posted workers and about the European perspective of the Western Balkans. What has been achieved in respect of the Posted Workers Directive is a big success which is appreciated by the trade unions because they have been working on it for 10 years, she said.

Asked about the EESC's opinion on the exclusion of the Mobility Package from the Posted Workers Directive, Bischoff said the EESC Workers' Group was disappointed to learn that transport workers were excluded from this legal instrument because all workers should get equal pay for equal work. This also has a bearing on the safety of transport, including passenger services. A fairer solution should be found because it is not right to have first, second and third class of workers in the EU, she argued.

Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria President Plamen Dimitrov said there is national consensus in the country that certain non-market mechanisms and elements of unfair competition are being applied to Bulgarian, Romanian and Polish road hauliers operating in Western Europe. Dimitrov believes it is unnecessary to require drivers to return to their country once every three weeks because the home country does not always offer better conditions for rest. Employers should be required to pay for the drivers' stay in the nearest country where they want to rest, in order to ensure that the drivers will really recuperate, Dimitrov proposed.