Industrial Relations and Labour Law

• ILO just released the Global Wage 2022-2023 Report, one of its flagship reports on wage trends and policies at national and global levels that looks at the global economy and labour market context and the impact that the pandemic has had on wages.
• This edition shows that, in the first half of 2022, there was the first negative global wage growth recorded since the start of the 21st Century.

• As we previously reported, following the proposal for a "Directive on adequate minimum wages in the European Union", published on October 2020, last June, the EU Council and the European Parliament reached an agreement for adequate minimum wages in the European Union (EU), aiming to guarantee decent living standards for workers.
• On 14 September 2022, the European Parliament approved the Directive with 505 votes in favour, 92 against and 44 abstentions.

• On 7 June 2022, the European Parliament announced a new agreement for adequate minimum wages in the European Union (EU).
• The agreement provides that:

           - minimum wage should be adequate to ensure a decent standard of living;

           - workers, their representatives and trade union members can seek redress if rules are violated;

           - collective bargaining needs to be strengthened in countries where it covers fewer than 80% of workers;

           - EU rules have to respect the powers of national authorities and social partners to determine wages.

• On 7 April 2022, the Government of Ontario passed Bill 88, the Working for Workers Act, 2022, that received Royal Assent on 11 April 2022 and is now in force.

• IOM Vietnam conducted a labour market assessment with employers in five key target provinces in Vietnam (Quang Ninh, Hai Phong, Nghe An, Ha Tinh and Quang Binh).
• It aimed to understand the nature of labour and skills demand and supply in these areas, identify the key sectors that influence the type and quantity of employment opportunities and identify the socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 on the local labour market in the perspectives of the employer, government and employee.

• On 10 December 2021, the National Minimum Wage Commission (NMWC) presented its report and recommendations on the annual review of the national minimum wage for 2022.
• The majority of Commissioners, after considering the current economic state of the country and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on both employers and employees, recommends that the national minimum wage should be increased by 1,0% above inflation.

• The government proposed a package aims to overcome the economic crisis brought about by the pandemic, including beefing up support for companies actively raising employee wages.
• It is working on plans to raise the maximum tax deduction rate to 40 per cent for small businesses and 30% for large corporates that increase employee wages.