Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1479276
11 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 18 SEPTEMBER 2022 NEWS LEJLA FIL-PARK Ikel, Saħħa u Sport 21 TA' SETTEMBRU 2022 5PM SA 8PM PARK TA' SAN KLEMENT ĦAŻŻABBAR JIPPREŻENTAW DANUSAN DĦUL B'XEJN Żvilupp Sostenibbli GIMGHA EWROPEA GHALL-IZVILUPP SOSTENIBBLI 20-26 TA' SETTEMBRU will see their salary increase by 20%," and that this would also erode some of the gender pay gap between men and women in Europe. But previously in March 2021, former Labour PM now head of the Labour delegation to the EP, Alfred Sant, was most categori- cal in his disagreement with this proposal. "At this stage, I agree with the 'threshold of decency' as an indicative not as a manda- tory threshold for adequate min- imum or living wages and this for two reasons," he told Malta- Today. Consistent to his sovereignist positions, Sant had said he does not like EU intervention or in- terference to spread in a manda- tory fashion to internal econom- ic and social running of member states. "When the Union operates in this way, it becomes counterpro- ductive, though for social rea- sons, I can understand and sym- pathise with the point the ETUC proposal is making." Secondly, Sant had said the decency threshold as stated, did not seem to take into account social welfare, security and oth- er measures like income supple- ments, family allowances, tax relief and other subsidies that apply in different ways in dif- ferent member states to sustain "real" incomes. "Neither does it take into account the temporal and geographical circumstances that determine the needs of pop- ulations living within different latitudes and time-zones of the Union; as well as the econom- ic and financial 'distortions' in remuneration scales applying within a given society due to the particularity of its internal social structures." The EU cannot force member states to apply higher minimum wages right away. Instead, it pro- vides guidelines for what an ade- quate minimum wage should be. And the directive requires member states to draw up na- tional action plans to increase the collective bargaining cov- erage in the workforce if their collective bargaining coverage is below 80%. Both the Maltese government and the Nationalist opposition in the national parliament were opposing the EC's proposal to set minimum wage standards across the bloc. In a reasoned opinion to Brus- sels in 2021, the Maltese parlia- ment said wage conditions were a national prerogative and the EU lacked authority to legis- late in this area. "Since parts of the proposal are proposed to be binding for all member states, the Maltese parliament sees this as an infringement on national mechanisms for wage forma- tion." A European Commission study found that Estonia, Malta, Ire- land, Czechia, Latvia, Hunga- ry and Romania had minimum wages below 40% of the national average wage. In 2018, in nine member states, Malta included, the statutory minimum wage did not protect minimum wage earners against the risk of poverty. All Malta's MEPs voted in favour of the directive: Labour MEPs Alex Agius Saliba, Cyrus Engerer, Alfred Sant and Josianne Cutajar abstained; and Nationalist MEP David Casa The EU cannot force member states to apply higher minimum wages right away. Instead, it provides guidelines for what an adequate minimum wage should be. And it requires member states to draw up national action plans to increase the collective bargaining coverage in the workforce if their collective bargaining coverage is below 80%