What’s in a name? From minimum wages to living wages in Europe

Thorsten Schulten and Torsten Müller
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Thorsten Schulten: Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), Düsseldorf, Germany
Torsten Müller: European Trade Union Institute (ETUI), Brussels, Belgium

Transfer: European Review of Labour and Research, 2019, vol. 25, issue 3, 267-284

Abstract: The development of a European minimum wage policy is back on the political agenda. While in the past the debate about a European minimum wage policy was largely detached from developments at national level, more recently the debate has been based on various national-level initiatives to ensure a living wage that enables workers and their families to enjoy a decent standard of living. Based on an introduction to the living wage concept, this article analyses how recent living wage initiatives in several EU Member States and the development of a European minimum wage policy could mutually reinforce each other and eventually result in a European living wage policy. In view of the significant heterogeneity of minimum wage regimes and welfare state traditions across Europe, the article calls for a pragmatic approach that adopts a common European target of 60 per cent of the national median wage as the benchmark for an adequate minimum wage.

Keywords: Minimum wage; living wage; trade unions; campaign; European minimum wage policy (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:sae:treure:v:25:y:2019:i:3:p:267-284

DOI: 10.1177/1024258919873989

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