Debates On “Adequate Minimum Wage” In The European Union and Review Of Directive: 2022/2041

Year 2024, , 1023 - 1070, 31.07.2024

Halil Balcı , Faruk Sapancalı

https://doi.org/10.54752/ct.1504365

Abstract

When it first emerged, minimum wage practices aimed only protecting workers in the lowest income group against economic and social risks, and became an effective tool in regulating the entire labor market. Minimum wage, which represents the lowest wage that can be paid to the workforce for its work, has economic, social and political dimensions. These features have made it an critical area of conflict between labor and capital. It represents a balance between the needs of the worker and his/her family and the paying capacity of employers.
Especially in times of economic instability, depression and crisis, the issue of minimum wage often comes to the fore. Minimum wage is an important tool to eliminate the risks posed by these conditions and to stabilize the economy again. On the one hand, while the minimum wage protects the poorest segments of society on the other hand creates a basis for sustainable economic growth by increasing total demand through the consumption expenditures of this segment which has a high marginal consumption tendency. The European Union has not made any regulations on the minimum wage at the union level for a long time. However, the 2008 crisis, the Covid Pandemic and most recently the war conditions in the surrounding countries have disrupted the stable economies of the EU countries and their social welfare state policies which they have been implementing for a long time. As a result of these developments that occurred in a relatively short period of time, the EU prepared a Directive regarding the minimum wage with the participation of the Union members and is binding on all member countries of the Union.
In this study, first the former regulations regarding the minimum wage in the EU were discussed, and then the justifications for the emergence of the "Directive 2022/2041 on an Adequate Minimum Wage", which adopted in 2022, were discussed and examined in the context of its regulations and implementation processes.

Keywords

Minimum wage, European Union, in-work poverty, inequality, collective bargaining

Avrupa Birliği’nde “Yeterli Asgari Ücret” Tartışmaları ve 2022/2041 Sayılı Yönergenin İncelenmesi

Abstract

İlk ortaya çıktığı dönemde sadece en alt gelir grubunda yer alan işçilerin ekonomik ve sosyal risklere karşı korunmasını amaçlayan asgari ücret uygulamaları sonrasında işgücü piyasalarının bütünün düzenlenmesinde etkili bir araç halini almıştır. İşgücüne çalışması karşılığında ödenebilecek en düşük ücreti ifade eden asgari ücret ekonomik, sosyal ve siyasal boyutlara sahiptir. Bu özellikleri kendisini emek ve sermaye arasındaki çatışmanın önemli bir alanı haline getirmiştir. İşçi ve ailesinin ihtiyaçları ile işverenlerin ödeme kapasiteleri arasında bir dengeyi ifade etmektedir. Özellikle ekonomik istikrarsızlık, buhran ve kriz dönemlerinde asgari ücret konusu sıklıkla gündeme gelmektedir. Asgari ücret bir yandan bu koşulların ortaya çıkardığı risklerin bertaraf edilmesi ve ekonominin tekrar istikrarlı hale getirilmesi için önemli bir araçtır. Asgari ücret bir yandan toplumun en yoksul kesimini korurken bir yandan da marjinal tüketim eğilimi yüksek olan bu kesimin tüketim harcamaları yoluyla toplam talebi artırarak sürdürülebilir bir ekonomik büyüme için dayanak noktası oluşturmaktadır. Avrupa Birliği, asgari ücret konusunda birlik düzeyinde uzunca bir süre düzenleme yapmamıştır. Bununla birlikte 2008 krizi, Covid Pandemisi ve en son da çevre ülkelerde ortaya çıkan savaş koşulları AB ülkelerinin istikrarlı ekonomilerini ve uzunca bir süredir uyguladıkları sosyal refah devleti politikalarını sekteye uğratmıştır. Kısa sayılabilecek bir zaman diliminde ortaya çıkan bu gelişmeler sonucunda AB asgari ücret ile ilgili Birlik üyelerinin katılımıyla ve Birlik üyesi bütün ülkeleri bağlayan bir yönerge hazırlamıştır. Çalışmada ilk olarak AB’nde asgari ücret ile ilgili geçmiş düzenlemeler ele alınmış sonrasında ise 2022 yılından kabul edilen “Yeterli Bir Asgari Ücrete Yönelik 2022/2041 Sayılı Yönerge” ortaya çıkış gerekçeleri, düzenlenme ve uygulanma süreçleri bağlamında ele alınıp, incelenmiştir.

Keywords

Asgari Ücret, Avrupa Birliği, Çalışan Yoksulluğu, Eşitsizlik, Toplu Pazarlık

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