Minimum wage
Updated: 5 October 2026
Working life research
Christine Aumayr-Pintar
Christine Aumayr-Pintar is a senior research manager in the Working Life unit at Eurofound. Her primary research expertise – approached from a comparative EU-wide standpoint – centres on minimum wages, collectively negotiated pay, social dialogue and gender pay transparency. She has co-authored Eurofound's annual reviews on minimum wages for the past decade, has a passion for industrial relations data and has developed – among other projects – the database on minimum wages in collective agreements for low-paid workers and the EU PolicyWatch database. Between 2021 and 2026 she also coordinated Eurofound's research on social dialogue and managed the Network of Eurofound Correspondents. Prior to joining Eurofound in 2009 she was a labour markets and regional economics researcher at Joanneum Research in Austria. She holds a Master's degree in Economics and a PhD in Social Science/Economics, having studied economics in Graz, Vienna and Jönköping.
Topics of expertise
Christine is an expert in the following topics.
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Research outputs
Christine is the author of the following publications.
Events, podcast and blog
Christine has contributed the following events, blog posts and podcast episodes.
10 January 2024
Podcast episode
Are minimum wages in Europe adequate and effective?
The latest episode of Eurofound Talks, recorded shortly before Eurofound publishes its harmonised analysis of 2024 minimum wage developments, looks at the changes to minimum wages in 2023. Mary McCaughey speaks with Eurofound experts Christine Aumayr-Pintar and Carlos Vacas-Soriano about the adequacy of minimum wages in Europe as they stand at the moment, how the EU has sought to improve the situation of low-wage earners through a Directive on adequate minimum wages, and how widespread the issue of minimum wage non-compliance is in the European Union.
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15 June 2022
Blog post
How to ensure adequate minimum wages in an age of inflation
Minimum wages have risen significantly in 2022, as the EU Member States leave behind the cautious mood of the pandemic. However, rising inflation is eating up these wage increases, and only flexibility in the regular minimum wage setting processes may avoid generalised losses in purchasing power among minimum wage earners. On 6 June 2022, the Council of the EU and the European Parliament reached a political agreement on the Directive on adequate minimum wages proposed by the Commission in October 2020. Once formally approved, EU Member States will have to transpose it into national law within two years.
9 June 2022
Podcast episode
Minimum wages
Minimum wages and minimum wage setting processes are not just issues of high political importance in Europe, but also everyday concerns for low-wage earners throughout the EU. In this episode of Eurofound Talks we speak with Senior Research Manager Christine Aumayr-Pintar on the importance of minimum wages in the EU, different processes in place, the latest EU developments in ensuring adequate minimum wages, and the growing issue of inflation for low-wage earners.
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18 June 2021
Blog post
Gender pay transparency: Advancing the cause through a truly European proposal
With its proposed directive on gender pay transparency, the European Commission has significantly bolstered the set of tools for delivering its objectives compared to those presented in its 2014 Recommendation. The proposed portfolio of measures addresses many shortcomings of the instruments that national authorities currently employ. And while some issues will still require clarification, further reflection or debate during the negotiations, the proposal is a truly European one: it draws on good practice from the policies of different countries rather than taking the approach of just one as a blueprint.
8 June 2021
Blog post
Minimum wages rise again, but the pandemic puts a brake on their growth
Decision-makers approached minimum wage setting for 2021 cautiously due to the economic uncertainty caused by the pandemic. Despite this, nominal statutory minimum wages rose in most Member States and the UK, although at lower rates than in recent years.
6 November 2020
Blog post
Are simple statistics enough? On the benefits of gender pay reports and audits
Following a sluggish response by many Member States to introduce or modify gender pay transparency measures, as it recommended in 2014, the European Commission intends to table a proposal for EU-level legislation on pay transparency later in 2020. In this context, a new Eurofound study investigated whether key people at company level see these measures as useful or beneficial. The results show that the richer pay audits are favoured over the simpler pay reports in terms of their perceived usefulness. Both managers and employee representatives agree on this.
28 October 2020
Blog post
New impetus to collective bargaining: Insights from the ECS
In the context of the ongoing trend of a fall in collective bargaining coverage, and recent calls at EU level to promote collective bargaining coverage as an instrument to support fair and decent wages, new data from Eurofound’s fourth European Company Survey (ECS) show that two-thirds of workers (in private sector establishments with more than 10 employees in the EU) are estimated to have their wages set via a collective wage agreement.
15 January 2020
Blog post
Fears and hopes around future minimum wages
As one of their ‘100 days in office’ initiatives, the new European Commission intends to propose an initiative for an EU minimum wage. The aim is that by 2024 every worker in the EU should earn a fair and adequate wage, no matter where they live.
17 April 2019
Blog post
Seniority entitlements: A policy of the past, or a fix for the future?
Seniority entitlements have largely been on the decline since the 1990s, and have been gradually phased-out from legislation in Europe, as well as in collective agreements. However, it would be premature to dismiss seniority-based entitlements as a thing of the past, as they remain in force across Europe, even if the more expansive term of ‘relevant experience’ is preferred. As we look to the future, we ask whether seniority-based entitlements have a renewed role in a European labour market challenged by demographic ageing and a need to keep people working for longer, or whether they are a relic of the past that contribute to inter-generational inequity, under-performance, and lower employment prospects of older workers.
4 February 2019
Blog post
Slow start for gender pay transparency in Germany
One year after Germany’s introduction of the Entgelttransparenzgesetz (Wage Transparency Act), the results are somewhat underwhelming. This law is Germany’s take on the European Commission’s recommendation on introducing pay transparency measures to combat the gender pay gap.
11 October 2018
Blog post
Progress in paternity and parental leave for fathers – Are baby steps enough?
Few events challenge the equilibrium between work and life like the arrival of a child. As gender roles continue to change in Europe, supporting the uptake of paternity and parental leave among fathers is fundamental, not just to close the ‘caring gap’ between men and women, but also to provide the best possible outlook for coming generations.
28 February 2018
Blog post
Ten points about pay transparency in Europe’s companies
Measures to promote gender pay transparency haven’t been delivered yet in half of Europe – making EU level legislative action to speed up implementation an option. In this blog, originally posted in Social Europe, Christine Aumayr-Pintar details what we know about the measures from countries that have been early adopters.
3 November 2017
Blog post
Pay inequalities come back into focus in post-crisis Europe
The ability to make ends meet is a vital issue for many Europeans and an important priority for European policymakers. In the immediate aftermath of the 2008 economic crisis the initial focus was to mitigate and reverse job loss, particularly in the countries most affected. With employment back to pre-crisis levels and unemployment on the decline, attention is turning to income inequality, and in particular pay inequality; an issue with ramifications beyond the labour market, and one which may well prove as intractable as the issue of unemployment in the previous decade.
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