ECJ ruling on wages a win for social Europe

The ruling is positive for workers, but it still can't make up for Ireland's weakness when it comes to trade union rights, writes Darragh Golden

A 24-hour strike in Athens last year called by Greece's largest labour union halted ferries and public transport services in the Greek capital and other cities, to press for a return of collective bargaining rights axed more than a decade ago during a severe financial crisis. File photo: AP/Thanassis Stavrakis

On November 11, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled in a landmark case on the viability of a progressive EU law in the social sphere known as the Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages (DAMW). 

Denmark sought to have the directive, in its entirety, annulled. The ECJ addressed some Danish concerns but ultimately ruled that the directive’s core provisions are valid, binding and on solid ground.