The European Commission has today submitted its proposal for a Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU Member States. “Our initial assessment is that it constitutes an unacceptable intervention in the Swedish labour market model,” says John Wahlstedt, General Counsel for Labour Law at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.
The European Commission has today submitted its proposal for a Directive on adequate minimum wages in the EU Member States. “The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise will now analyse this proposal; however, our initial assessment is that it constitutes an unacceptable intervention in the Swedish labour market model, where autonomy and self-regulation for the concerned parties are fundamental,” says John Wahlstedt, General Counsel for Labour Law at the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise.
Wahlstedt considers that the European Commission”s proposal for a Directive on minimum wages exceeds its jurisdiction under Article 153 (5) of the EU Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU).
He continues, “This is exactly the type of violation we feared when the EU adopted the so-called ‘social pillar’, and it is disappointing to note that we were correct in that assessment. Also, we do not see the proposal as offering sufficient guarantees that our model will not be affected by proposed new rules.”
“We will continue to defend our model, alongside with our counterparts within the Labour Market Council for EU Affairs, the Swedish Trade Union Confederation (LO) and the Council for Negotiation and Cooperation (PTK). We assume that the Swedish government will do everything possible in its power to ensure that this damaging proposal – which is in violation of the Treaty – does not become a reality. It is in Sweden´s interest that the autonomy and freedom of contract of the parties are guaranteed,” says John Wahlstedt.
Arbetsmarknad EU