Wage determination and wage inequalities in Europe

Eurofound - European Parliament Working Lunch, 12 November 2014, Brussels, Belgium

Organisation: Eurofound Brussels Liaison Office
Venue: European Parliament, Members' Salon, ASP building, Brussels

Across most EU countries, the current recession has been putting increased pressure on wages. Wage-settings regimes have undergone profound change in some Member States where they are often the results of European-level policies, instead of remaining the competence of social partners in line with national industrial relation practice.

Objectives

The objective of the lunch is to discuss with Members of the European Parliament the main wage developments within the context of wage related policies at European level and within the context of the recent crisis and the EU’s new economic governance regime, especially in view of the forthcoming presentation of the European Commission’s Annual Growth Survey 2015, which should reflect President Juncker’s political guidelines.

The discussion will be based on three Eurofound reports: Changes to Wage-setting Mechanisms in the Context of the Crisis and the EU’s New Economic Governance Regime, Pay in Europe in 21st century (see Related content) and the forthcoming report on Recent Developments in the Distribution of Wages in Europe.

Content

MEP Marita Ulvskog, Acting Chair of the EP EMPL Committee and Roberto Gualtieri, Chair of the EP ECON Committee will open the lunch. Juan Menéndez-Valdés, Director of Eurofound will also welcome participants and introduce Eurofound research.

David Foden, Head of the Working Conditions and Industrial Relations Unit, and Donald Storrie, Head of Employment and Change Unit, will present findings wage outcomes across EU Member States and potential links with different wage bargaining regimes. They will also briefly touch upon the different systems and levels of minimum wages in Europe at present. Furthermore, the discussion will address the potential reasons behind the observed distributional changes in wages, such as trade, productivity, unemployment as well as the issue of wage inequalities.

Participation is by invitation only.

An agenda is available below.