Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 October 2023
98. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the timeline for the full transposition of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages; if he will provide an update on the work of his Department in developing, with the relevant LEEF sub-committee, the Action Plan to be presented to the European Commission no later than November 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44371/23]
View answerTo ensure minimum wages are set at adequate levels, the Directive requires countries with statutory minimum wages to put in place clear and stable criteria for minimum wage setting, indicative reference values to guide the assessment of adequacy, and regular and timely updates of minimum wages.
The development of policy in this area must be mindful of the fact that Ireland has one of the highest minimum rates of pay in the EU and that the Government is committed to the phasing in of a statutory living wage by January 2026. Initial analysis of the Directive suggests that our current minimum wage setting framework, namely the Low Pay Commission, is largely already in compliance with the provisions of the Directive.
Article 4.2 of the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages requires Member States with a collective bargaining coverage rate below 80% to provide for a framework of enabling conditions for collective bargaining to be implemented. Accordingly, Ireland is obliged to present an action plan to the European Commission as part of its transposition of the Directive no later than November 2024. This action plan is about ensuring the autonomy of social partners and does not compel any party to engage in negotiations or conclude agreements. The action plan will be prepared in consultation with the social partners and is a standing item on the LEEF sub-committee on employment rights.
My Department is represented at the expert group on the transposition of the Directive that was established by the European Commission. It has met six times already and will conclude its work with a final report in November. This report will guide us on how to correctly implement the provisions of the Directive in an Irish context. It is important that we await the outcome of these workshops and the Commission’s final report before we finalise the details of how we should transpose the Directive in Ireland.
The Directive has been discussed on several occasions at the LEEF Enterprise Subgroup and will be considered for future agendas of that Group as plans for implementation of the Directive develop.
