This book provides an all-encompassing and timely analysis of the EU regulatory framework deriving from the enactment of Directive 2022/2041 on adequate minimum wages. In the first part, the book discusses the function of minimum wage policies in contemporary labour markets and the role of social partners and collective bargaining in governing minimum wage determinants and trends. The second part provides an article-by-article commentary of the Directive, including insights on crucial aspects such as the EU competence to intervene on wages, the concept of minimum wage adequacy, and the measurement and promotion of collective bargaining coverage. The third part assesses the impact of the Directive across the EU, focusing on the main systemic implications of the Directive as well as on the structural changes that Member States will need to implement. With contributions written by scholars and stakeholders from across Europe, the book sheds light on one of labour law's most fundamental objectives – to provide for adequate minimum wages. It is an invaluable resource for researchers, policy makers, trade unionists and employers' representatives.

Following a two-stage consultation of social partners launched in February 2020, on 28 October, the European Commission published its proposal for a directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union. It is a watershed in the history of European social and economic integration: for the first time, the Commission is initiating legislative action not only to ensure fair minimum wages but also to strengthen collective bargaining. The proposal for the Directive is based on Article 153 (1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (TFEU) which covers working conditions. Art. 153 (5) TFEU, however, excludes interventions related to pay. The draft therefore leaves the main responsibility for defining the concrete level of a minimum wage to the Member States.

This publication deals with current labor market issues in Japan, Germany and the European Union. In the book, the "labor market" serves as central focus point, yet the methodology of addressing this focus point is very broad. It includes the analysis of the general labor market development and its conditions in the European Union and in Japan as well as more specific investigations, such as the impact of fiscal policies, exchange rates or information technology on the demand for labor. The book also focusses on the single firm level, particularly on organizational performance, worktime flexibility and on occupational health and safety management. Other contributions address specific subsectors of the economy, such as the role of the female workforce in Japan, the development of the rural labor market in East Germany or the comparative impact of international workforce migrations in Hungary and in Japan. The results of the book, which reflect the outcome of an international conference at the University of Freiburg in 1996, may help to understand in more detail one of the most complex and serious problems of today's society and to find ways for its solution.