First green light from the European Parliament to a European directive on the minimum wage. The yes came from the Employment and Social Affairs Committee and concerns a directive that “will ensure a minimum level of wage protection” in Europe. Now the directive will have to be voted on in plenary and, European sources explain, it could be scheduled as early as November. The vote “represents a big step forward towards the introduction of the minimum wage in Italy as well as an extraordinary tool for combating wage dumping and unfair competition in Europe”, explains M5S MEP Daniela Rondinelli.
In the morning a note from the cinquestelle senators of the Palazzo Madama Labor Commission underlined “as the Speaker of the Chamber, Roberto Fico, reiterated, introducing the minimum wage in Italy is a goal that the 5 Star Movement wants to achieve as soon as possible. That is why we are speeding up the work in Parliament. Our country has remained one of the few in Europe that does not have a minimum wage limit, now present in 21 of the 27 EU states. In addition to Italy, only Cyprus and the so-called ‘frugal’, Austria, Denmark, Finland and Sweden, have not adopted this measure and in the case of the Scandinavian countries it is not surprising given the average salary level. In Germany and France, the minimum hourly wage is € 9-10 gross. In Italy, the workers below the 9 euro threshold are 4.3 million. The time has come to pass from words to deeds putting Italy in step with Europe ».