It is currently at 1,398.70 euros net per month. The president of the Michelin group considers that the minimum wage is insufficient and announces the establishment of a “decent” income for all its employees. When and why was the minimum wage introduced in France?
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The minimum wage has existed in France since 1950. It was first called the guaranteed interprofessional minimum wage (Smig), so that each employee is guaranteed not to fall below a certain income threshold. It was clearly about fighting poverty. Then in 1970, the Smig became the Interprofessional Minimum Wage for Growth (Smic), because we also need to push growth and consumption, thanks to salaries that are not ridiculous.
Minimum wage is indexed to inflation so that minimum wage income is not eroded by rising prices. With the resurgence of inflation in recent years, the minimum wage has been increased eight times since the start of 2021. Sometimes, there may be boosts to the minimum wage to go beyond catching up with the minimum wage. inflation. The biggest increase in the minimum wage dates from 1968, after demonstrations and strikes. The minimum wage then increases by 35%. And in 1981, with the arrival of François Mitterrand at the Élysée, the minimum wage increased by 10%.
The proportion of minimum wage workers is increasing in France
In the private sector, 3,100,000 employees, or 17% of private sector employees, are paid the minimum wage in France. More women than men are paid the minimum wage. The proportion of minimum wage workers is increasing in France: in 2010, only 10% of private sector employees were paid the minimum wage. This increase can be explained because many low-skilled jobs created in recent years are paid the minimum wage. It is also explained by automatic revaluations. The SMICARDS have caught up with certain salaries just above which have not been increased automatically, the number of people receiving a SMIC is increasing, we call this “SMICARDIZATION”.
If employers tend to pay their employees the minimum wage, it is pbecause for around thirty years, to reduce the cost of labor, governments have considerably reduced employer social contributions for employment on the minimum wage, for example, they have almost completely disappeared. These reductions encourage employers not to remove their employees from the “SMIC zone”. We are talking about “low-wage trap”, which can contribute to creating “smicards for life”.