EU Commission proposes rules for adequate minimum wage in EU

FILE PHOTO: A European Union's flag flutters outside the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, Belgium October 15, 2020. REUTERS/Yves Herman

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission proposed on Wednesday standards for setting adequate minimum wages across the 27-nation bloc to reduce wage inequality and in-work poverty, increase incentives to work and help sustain domestic demand as the economy shrinks.

The proposal, worked on long before the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, gains new significance by the fact that the coronavirus is hitting hardest many of the sectors that pay mininum wages like retail and tourism, bars and restaurants as well as health workers, care-givers or cleaners.