Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne assured, Friday, April 14, that the minimum wage would increase “by a little more than 2%” on May 1 and called on companies to “renegotiate salary scales”. The Prime Minister made this announcement during a trip to a hypermarket in Hips (Eure-et-Loir).
The minimum wage benefits each year from a mechanical increase on January 1, which takes into account the weighted price increase for the 20% of households with the lowest incomes. But revaluations also occur during the year as soon as inflation exceeds 2%.
However, inflation reached 5.7% in March, which will mechanically lead “to a revaluation of the minimum wage on May 1 by just over 2%”. This increase will be precisely 2.19%, the cabinet of Labor Minister Olivier Dussopt told Agence France-Presse (AFP). The monthly net minimum wage will thus be increased by 30 euros, to 1,383 euros for a full-time equivalent.
During this visit, Ms. Borne called on companies to “renegotiate salary scales as soon as possible” for employees so that employees who earn a little more than the minimum wage are not penalized.
“Anti-Inflation Basket”
Accompanied by the Minister for SMEs Olivia Grégoire, the Prime Minister also assured that the “anti-inflation basket” put in place by large retailers has made it possible to avoid a sharp rise in prices.
“Thanks to the anti-inflation quarter, with this commitment by distributors to cut back on their margins to protect purchasing power, we were able to avoid this spike in the prices of food and hygiene products,” said the chef. of the government.
This move comes after the publication by INSEE of the final inflation estimates for the month of March, driven by soaring food prices, its main driver.
On the shelves of a hypermarket, Elisabeth Borne was interrupted several times by a few demonstrators. “We don’t want 64”, “49.3, we don’t want it”, some shouted. But the Prime Minister was also able to engage in dialogue with customers, saying she was “lucid” about the strength of the challenge.
