Minimum wages: hikes planned in several countries in 2022

Portugal is to increase its minimum wage from €740 gross per month to €775 on 1 January, as the government honours a pledge to increase the level by 25% by 2023. The move aims to stimulate economic recovery in the country by boosting household consumption. In Greece, meanwhile, the minimum wage will rise in two stages next year: by 2% from the beginning of January and in line with inflation thereafter, bringing it to €773. The increase is inferior to that enacted in 2019 (11%) but continues efforts to return to the 2012 level (€876) before Greece was pushed into austerity policies by international creditors, under which the minimum wage was slashed by 22%. Minimum wage rises were at the heart of the election promises of recently elected leaders in the US and Germany, and the issue is emerging as a major political trend worldwide. In Taiwan, for example, it will rise by 5.2% from 1 January, driven by GDP growth of almost 6% in 2021. At just over €800, it will have risen by 26% in the space of just five years. In Hungary, which has the third lowest minimum wage in Europe, the monthly minimum wage will rise by almost €100 (19.2%), to reach €564 (200 000 forints). The government has promised tax cuts for companies to help fund the measure. Finally, some 150,000 Czech workers will enjoy a 6% increase in the minimum wage to €630 (16,200 Czech crowns), again from the beginning of next year.