This is not a boost, but an automatic increase indexed to inflation. On January 1, 2024, the minimum wage will be increased by 1.7%, according to the annual report of a group of experts on minimum wage published Thursday. The net minimum wage for full-time work, currently 1,383 euros, would thus increase by around 23 euros to around 1,406 euros. 20 minutes make the point.
No helping hand
“The group of experts recommends refraining from any boost to the minimum wage on January 1, 2024. The only automatic revaluation mechanisms preserve the purchasing power of the minimum wage in view of the increase in the price index at consumption,” assure the experts. The minimum wage benefits from a mechanical increase each year, calculated according to two criteria: inflation observed for the 20% of households with the lowest incomes and half of the gain in purchasing power of the basic hourly wage for workers and employees (SHBOE).
“Over three years, from January 1, 2021 to December 31, 2023, the minimum wage will have been increased seven times for a total of 13.5%,” notes the report. “No boost, because it is not effective in fighting poverty, because it could increase poverty with effects on the employment of vulnerable people,” the president of the group told AFP. experts, economist Gilbert This, Macronist economist also appointed to head the recalcitrant Pension Orientation Council.
An increase not “effective”, according to experts
For the group of experts, “the legal minimum wage increases in France are not very effective in reducing the poverty laborious whose main factors are a low number of hours worked and family configuration”, in reference to part-time work and single-parent families. “An additional increase in the minimum wage would also contribute to further compressing the range of salaries at the level of the minimum wage,” warn the experts while the percentage of employees directly affected by the revaluation of the minimum wage on January 1 increased from 12% in 2021 to 17.3% in 2023.
Gilbert Cet emphasizes that exemptions from charges on low salaries also contribute to this decline, noting that an increase of 100 euros for an employee on the minimum wage costs the employer 483 euros. Like last year, experts are finally recommending reforming the system by modifying the indexation rules. Among their proposals is automatic indexation on the average of changes in minimum wages for a panel of branches, according to the Dutch or German model.
Always more minimum wage
Sophie Binetgeneral secretary of the CGTchallenges this analysis, highlighting wages indexed to inflation in Belgium or higher salaries in the industry in Germany. “There are 3.1 million employees who are paid the minimum wage while it was 2.5 million last year,” she notes, adding that this “stark increase demonstrates the decline in remuneration.”
The proposals made by the experts are also described as a “red rag” and a “real provocation” by the general secretary of the CGT. “The only thing that protects employees in France is the minimum wage. It is not increasing enough but fortunately it is there because other salaries are increasing much less,” notes Sophie Binet.
Mostly women
“The real experts on the minimum wage are the employees who are more and more numerous, and especially many who are paid the minimum wage,” she told AFP. Note that more than 57% of minimum wage earners are now women, compared to 55% last year, or 1.8 million people.