Minimum under the minimum wage since January: around "a third" of branches now in compliance

Of the forty branches which had minimums below the minimum wage before the automatic increase of October 1 and called upon by the government to negotiate, "about a third" have conventional minimums "at least equal to the minimum wage", indicated Ms. Borne, after a meeting with representatives of these branches.

"We must salute the branches which have concluded agreements within time limits which are constrained", she added, citing in particular the aesthetics or the interim as well as the agreement opened for signature Thursday in hotel-cafes -restaurants, with increases put on the table which "are not negligible".

The minister added that "a large half" of the branches were still negotiating, indicating that their discussions would continue to be followed "closely".

She also cited "three branches in which social dialogue appears clearly lacking": hairdressing (106.000 employees), department stores (36.900) and timber trade (7.200), inviting the social partners to "show responsibility" and providing for "close monitoring".

The issue, she underlined, "is the attractiveness of the professions in a context also marked by significant recruitment tensions".

The successive increases in the minimum wage have the effect of "compressing" the salary scales. If the agreed minimum is lower than the minimum wage, the employer must close the gap. But when the minimums of branches are caught up by the minimum wage, this often generates an increased concentration of employees whose wages become anchored on the minimum wage. In other words, even with seniority, the employee remains at the minimum wage.

With the automatic revaluation of the minimum wage that took place on October 1, 89 branches were added to the non-compliant branches. And with the new automatic increase scheduled for January 1 (+ 0,9%), 22 new branches will be added to those with a coefficient lower than the minimum wage, said the Ministry of Labor.

Ultimately, to date, 63 branches, or 36,8% of the 171 branches monitored (4,7 million employees) have a fully compliant grid.

Conversely, 108 branches, or 63,2% (nearly 6,6 million employees) have a grid comprising at least one coefficient lower than the minimum wage, according to the balance sheet of the ministry.