On 19th March, Ceemet met with the Portuguese Labour Minister, Ana Mendes Godinho to discuss the social priorities of the Portuguese Presidency.
During and open and constructive discussion, Ceemet’s President Rainer Ludwig, Chair of the Ceemet Board of Directors Hubert Mongon, and Ceemet Director General Delphine Rudelli, presented to the Minister the views of the MET industry on the Action Plan on the implementation of the European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) and the proposal for a Directive on adequate minimum wages, two very important topics for the employers.
Ceemet and Ms Mendes Godinho agreed on the importance of the involvement of social partners – at all levels – for a proper implementation of the EPSR, although divergences of views remained as regards the legal basis for the proposal on adequate minimum wages. According to Ceemet, and contrary to what is stated in the Council legal service’s opinion, the EU has no competence to introduce any EU action regarding pay and collective bargaining as there is no legal basis to do so. Indeed, « pay » is explicitly excluded from the EU level in article 153(5) TFEU.
Even though Ms Mendes Godinho could not agree with Ceemet, she however proposed to pursue the discussion and assured the participants that the Presidency would be looking for a suitable compromise solution on this complex proposal.