Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1339768
7 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 14 FEBRUARY 2021 NEWS KURT SANSONE GOVERNMENT has cross-par- ty backing for its stand against a European Commission propos- al to set minimum wage stand- ards across the bloc. In a reasoned opinion commu- nicated to Brussels last month, the Maltese parliament said the Commission proposal did not respect the principle of subsidi- arity. The Brussels initiative wants to ensure that all workers in the EU have access to adequate minimum wage protection ei- ther in the form of statutory minimum wages or wages set in collective agreements. But after analysing the propos- al, parliament's Foreign and Eu- ropean Affairs Committee said the directive seemed to impose a "one size fits all model" of minimum wage setting. The Maltese parliament said wage conditions were a national prerogative and the EU lacked authority to legislate in this ar- ea. "Since parts of the proposal are proposed to be binding for all member states, the Maltese parliament sees this as an in- fringement on national mecha- nisms for wage formation," the reasoned opinion read. The position enjoyed the backing of government and Op- position MPs on the committee and reflects the stand taken by the Maltese government, which argued that minimum wage standards and mechanisms should remain a competence of national authorities. Parliament insisted that the setting of wages should remain a member state prerogative. "While Malta shares the ob- jective of the proposal that em- ployees receive wages that allow a reasonable standard of living wherev- er they work in the EU, at the same time such objectives can be effectively achieved through actions by member states, par- ticularly since the precondi- tions and systems for wage for- mation are different from one member state to another," par- liament said. A European Commission study that accompanied the proposal found that Estonia, Malta, Ireland, Czechia, Latvia, Hungary and Romania had min- imum wages below 40% of the national average wage. The study also found that in 2018, in nine member states, the statutory minimum wage did not protect minimum wage earners against the risk of pov- erty. Malta was among these countries. An individual is at the risk of poverty if he or she lives in a household with an income be- low 60% of net median house- hold income, adjusted for household composition, in the same country. Cross-party backing on stand against EU's minimum wage proposal European Commissioner for Jobs and Social Rights Nicolas Schmit on 28 October 2020 in Brussels