The minimum wage: should it or should it not be increased to keep life affordable for many people? In his campaign, Pieter Omtzigt regularly refers to a comparison with France and Spain to illustrate that we already have a substantial minimum wage in the Netherlands. But is this comparison correct, and what about in our neighboring countries?
In one of the first debates between Frans Timmermans (PvdA/GroenLinks) and Pieter Omtzigt (NSC), Omtzigt made the following statement: ‘The minimum wage in the surrounding countries is already lower. In France it is 1750 euros per month, with us it is almost 2000 euros per month and in Spain it is 1250 euros per month.’
Omtzigt claims that minimum wages in the countries around us are lower than in the Netherlands. He does this using the examples of Spain and France, two countries where he believes the minimum wage is lower than ours. This raises the question why Omtzigt specifically chooses these countries to compare the Netherlands with. And moreover: can you compare wages in these countries with the Netherlands, or are you comparing apples and oranges?
Minimum wage at the neighbors
It is true that the minimum wage in the Netherlands is almost 2000 euros per month. According to government figures, the exact gross minimum wage for everyone in the Netherlands aged 21 and over is €1,995 per month. Please note: the Dutch allowances, which mainly benefit lower incomes, are not included in this comparison. Of course, these also affect the cost of living.
Omtzigt’s figures on French and Spanish wages are also correct: in France the minimum wage is 1,747 euros to be precise and in Spain 1,260 euros. But to assess his statement, we must look beyond these two countries. After all, he is talking about the ‘countries surrounding us’.
When we look at the minimum wage in the countries surrounding the Netherlands, a completely different picture suddenly emerges. A Belgian earns only a few tens less and in Germany the difference with the Netherlands is only a few euros per month. In Luxembourg the wage is not lower, but a lot higher: there you earn 2,500 euros: a difference of more than 500 euros gross per month.
Lower minimum wage or more expensive living?
Moreover, the level of the minimum wage in itself does not say everything. After all, the point is that you can pay the costs of living with a minimum salary. And those costs can vary enormously per country and even per EU country. For example, according to Eurostat, Luxembourg is the country with the highest ‘cost of living’.
It is therefore not surprising that the minimum wage is also higher there. Remarkably, of all these countries, Spain is the country with the lowest cost of living. That makes the relatively low minimum wage for Spaniards a lot more logical. And the country after Luxembourg with the highest costs? The Netherlands. According to Eurostat, our living costs are comparable to those in Germany and Belgium.
Selective picks
Pieter Omtzigt’s claim that the minimum wage is lower in neighboring countries is therefore only partially correct. Yes, minimum wages are lower in France and Spain, but life is also a lot cheaper in Spain in particular.
Moreover, France has a shorter working week than the Netherlands. In both Germany and Belgium, countries where life is about as expensive as ours, the minimum wage is at almost the same level. And in Luxembourg it is even a lot higher. So it seems that Omtzigt was making selective mistakes here.
The Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Norway) are not included in this fact check. None of these countries have a legally established minimum wage.
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