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Avatar photoThorsten Schulten

Thorsten Schulten is Head of the collective agreements archive of the Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI) at the Hans Böckler Stiftung. He is also an Honorary Professor at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.
Gavel crashing onto broken pavement symbolising legal or judicial disturbance.

After Landmark EU Court Judgement: The EU Minimum Wages Directive Is Alive and Kicking

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The landmark ruling validates the directive's approach to adequate wages and collective bargaining, dealing only minor setbacks to its implementation across Europe.

Germany’s Minimum Wage Hike In Accordance With The European Minimum Wage Directive

Thorsten Schulten and Malte Lübker

Germany’s wage commission sets a new course, linking pay floor to EU benchmark after years of modest rises.

Germany’s Subcontracting Ban in the Meat Industry

Şerife Erol, Anneliese Kärcher, Thorsten Schulten and Manfred Walser

A landmark German law has drastically improved working conditions in the meat industry.

EU Minimum Wage Directive Before the European Court of Justice: It’s Not All Over Now…

Thorsten Schulten and Torsten Müller

EU’s minimum wage directive is under threat.

Germany’s Minimum Wage Controversy: Will the EU Directive Be Enforced?

Thorsten Schulten

The EU pushes for a 60 per cent median wage standard—yet Germany resists. What’s at stake for fair wages?

Not done yet—applying the minimum-wages directive

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The directive has already changed the landscape on setting minimum wages and extending collective bargaining.

Minimum-wages directive—history in the making

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The directive fundamentally strengthens collective bargaining and trade union power.

Germany on the way to adequate minimum wages

Thorsten Schulten

The hike to €12 is also a strong signal on the planned European minimum-wages directive.

More ambitious European minimum-wages directive demanded

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The European Parliament has upped the ante, beyond a European Commission proposal, on a minimum-wages directive.

An end to wage-dumping in the German meat industry?

Şerife Erol and Thorsten Schulten

The German meat industry is being pushed off its low road of migrant-labour exploitation towards regulation and potential collective agreement.

Minimum-wage directive: yes, but …

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The draft minimum-wage directive is a crucial first step but more needs to follow on the way to a social Europe.

The European minimum wage will come—but how?

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

The principle of a European minimum wage is established. How it should be set is not.

Why Won’t Wages In Europe Rise As They Should?

Thorsten Schulten and Malte Lübker

The economic mainstream is perplexed: growth is finally taking hold across Europe, economic forecasts have been revised upwards, and employment is expanding. The only indicator

The European Social Pillar – Towards An EU Minimum Wage Policy?

Torsten Müller and Thorsten Schulten

On 26 April, the European Commission launched its proposal for a European Pillar of Social Rights (EPSR) as a flagship initiative to strengthen the EU’s

Greek Collective Bargaining After The Third Memorandum

Thorsten Schulten

The radical restructuring of Greek collective bargaining was right from the beginning one of the core demands of the Troika of the European Commission, the

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Hans Böckler Stiftung Advertisement

WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT
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WSI Minimum Wage Report 2026

Minimum wage policy across Europe has shifted significantly, with many EU countries raising wages above average and anchoring them to adequate living standards. This trend is consolidating as countries increasingly adopt the reference values recommended in the European Minimum Wage Directive — recently upheld by the European Court of Justice.

DOWNLOAD THE PAPER
ETUI Advertisement

A more strategic Europe? Risks and opportunities for the world of work

Europe’s ambition to achieve strategic autonomy is at risk of being undermined from within, according to the annual flagship report by the ETUI and the ETUC. Despite signs of macroeconomic resilience, weakening investment, stalled decarbonisation and growing labour market fragilities are eroding the very foundations on which Europe’s power depends. Once again, the Benchmarking Working Europe 2026 report stands out as an invaluable resource, providing a comprehensive set of indicators illustrated through more than 60 graphs and tables, with analysis from ETUI researchers.

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Eurofound Advertisement

Is financial resilience and trust in Europe faltering?

In this episode of Eurofound Talks, host Mary McCaughey and senior researcher Eszter Sandor unpack the results of the 2025 Living and Working in the EU e-survey. While headline inflation has stabilised at 2.1%, the data reveals a continent gripped by chronic precariousness, with 57% of respondents now at risk of depression. Mary and Eszter explore how this economic insecurity is impacting institutional trust and democratic engagement.

LISTEN HERE
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The Spring issue of The Progressive Post is out!

In geopolitics, 2026 is challenging our certainties: from the abduction of the Venezuelan president, over the open US threats to 'take' Greenland, to the US-Israeli war on Iran. This issue tries to determine what comes next, debating power politics in the 21st century. We also examine the European Commission's first Anti-Poverty Strategy as well as the EU's need for proactive adaptation measures, exploring the legislation, resources and mechanisms to climate-proof our future.

READ THE MAGAZINE

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