On 14-15 January 2025, a seminar entitled "The effectiveness of social dialogue in the implementation of the minimum wage directive – success or disappointment?" was held in Warsaw/Poland and online. The meeting was organized by KK NSZZ "Solidarność" (Komisja Krajowa NSZZ "Solidarność") in cooperation with EZA and funded by the European Union.
The meeting was attended by 43 representatives of workers’ organizations from Poland, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Austria, the Czech Republic, Lithuania and France. The working languages were English, French, German and Polish.
The aim of the seminar was to present the situation in individual countries, discuss and exchange experiences on the state of implementation of the Directive 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 October 2022 on adequate minimum wages in the European Union.
The meeting was opened by Elżbieta Wielg, NSZZ "Solidarność", who welcomed the participants and presented the two-day agenda of the meeting. Then she gave the floor to Jerzy Jaworski, Deputy Chairman of the National Commission of NSZZ "Solidarność" and Dariusz Paczuski, Chairman of the Mazovia Region of NSZZ "Solidarność", who welcomed the participants and described the situation in the Mazovia Region, where there are 43.000 union members.
The first presentation on the topic of "Implementation of the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages in the EU" from the perspective of the European Commission was given by Jose Antonio Garrido Otaola, a representative of the European Commission. He presented the historical background of the origin of the minimum wage directive, as well as the legal situation regarding the minimum wage in some European Union countries. He also emphasized that due to the fact that the Directive was appealed to the Court by Denmark and the Advocate General announced his opinion on January 14, 2025, there is nothing else to do but wait for the decision of the Court, which does not always follow the opinion announced by the Advocate General. Maxime Cerutti, Director of the Social Affairs Department at BusinessEurope, emphasized that the voice of the Member States should be listened to as to what approach they want to use to implement the Directive and that each country should be approached individually. Torsten Müller, scientist, representative of the European Trade Union Institute, recalled that in times of crisis, the European Commission had a different approach to collective agreements - it sought to extinguish them. Currently, collective agreements are not treated as a problem, but as a tool to solve a problem in the economy. He also pointed out that the position of trade unions in negotiations is weakening.
Then, an in-depth analysis of the implementation of the minimum wage directive was presented on the examples of 5 countries. Joseph Thouvenel, Christian Confederation of French Workers (CFTC), Vice President of EZA, talked about the situation in France, where 96% of employees are covered by collective agreements. Lucie Studnicna, Secretary for Foreign Cooperation, Czech-Moravian Confederation of Trade Unions (CMKOS) presented the state of implementation of the Directive in the Czech Republic, where unfortunately the government itself sets the minimum wage under pressure from business circles without talks with social partners. The situation of another country was presented by Velichke Mikova, National Secretary, Confederation of Independent Trade Unions (CITUB) from Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, there are no collective labour agreements at the national level, collective bargaining is conducted at the sectoral level, within industries and branches, and at the company level. In 2025, there are 10 sectoral and industry-specific collective agreements. Elmar Smid, European Policy Advisor, Federation of Dutch Trade Unions (FNV), talked about the situation in the Netherlands, where discussions with social partners on the national action plan have only just begun and there is still lack of concrete proposals. It is also planned to introduce a procedure in the event of the need to create future action plans for the implementation of directives. Viktoras Laskovas from the Lithuanian Labour Federation (LDF) presented the level of coverage of Lithuanian employees by collective labour agreements, which is still one of the lowest in the EU about 22%. The last speaker was Andrzej Kuchta, Chairman of NSZZ "Solidarność" in PZL Świdnik, Member of the Social Dialogue Council, who explained the procedure for establishing the minimum wage in Poland and expressed the view that the implementation of the Directive should bring a number of positive results that will significantly increase labour standards, such as improved working conditions, reducing income inequality and revitalizing collective bargaining.
Then, two debates took place. The aim of the first one was to assess the adopted and proposed action plans to support collective labour agreements. During this debate, the following spoke: Sławomir Adamczyk, head of the Industry and Consultation Office of NSZZ "Solidarność", Paweł Śmigielski, Director Legal and Intervention Department, OPZZ, Elmar Smid, FNV, Szymon Witkowski, Chief Legislator, Representative of the Board for social dialogue, Employers RP, Viktoras Laskovas, Lithuanian Federation of Labour, Lithuania. During the debate, there were voices that the proposed act would not lead to 80% coverage by collective agreements. Entrepreneurs have no incentive to negotiate and conclude collective labour agreements, they see no benefits for themselves, and they see more and more obligations and burdens imposed on them.
The second debate focused on the possibility of real development of collective bargaining law, what conditions may be conducive and what constitute a barrier. The debate was attended by: Jacek Męcina, Konfederacja Lewiatan Advisor to the Board - labour relations, social dialogue, Andrzej Kuchta, NSZZ “Solidarność”, Jan Czarzasty, Warsaw School of Economics, Velichka Mikova, CITUB, Bulgaria. During the debate, the view was expressed that currently technological transformation will be a challenge and it is necessary to create space to encourage employers to develop collective agreements. The greatest added value of introducing the Directive will be motivating and mobilizing employers to talk. It was noted that in order to achieve the recommended level of 80% coverage by collective labour agreements, the possibility of generalizing sectoral agreements would be a good direction.
The planned development of recommendations after the debates was abandoned due to the fact that the Directive was appealed. Everyone agreed that everything should be done to use this time to develop possible solutions in the best possible way. It is necessary to prepare for the process of monitoring and controlling the collective agreements in force. It is also important to increase public awareness of the benefits of collective agreements.
Finally, Bartłomiej Mickiewicz, Deputy Chairman of the National Committee of NSZZ "Solidarność", summarized the situation in which the government responsible for the implementation of the Directive should consult with the social side the draft of laws and amendments to laws, and did not inform social partners about proposals for changes to the act. This shows what Social Dialogue looks like and how the European social model, equal treatment and equal pay are treated. This approach of the government to such an important topic is worrying. The directive on an adequate minimum wage was and is very important for NSZZ „Solidarność”, a lot of work and time was devoted to it. During this seminar, examples of some countries showed that the introduction of the Directive is possible and everyone can benefit from it. The implementation of the Directive and facilitating the path to collective agreements may lead to improved democracy, increased social participation and social dialogue. It is hoped that this will change in the future.