Panayiotis Rougalas
Cyprus is expected to introduce a national minimum wage by the end of January 2022. According to information, the national minimum wage will be set at 45% - 60% of the national median salary in Cyprus which is 1,573 euros. However, the exact percentage has yet to be determined and will be established in the coming days.
This means that at 45%, employers will need to pay a minimum of 707 euros per month. But sources say that the percentage will most likely be between 55% - 60% of the national median salary because there are already nine professions in Cyprus that benefit from an institutionalized minimum wage of 870 euros per month.
Officials from the Ministry of Labor, the International Labor Organization (ILO), the Ministry of Finance, trade unions and employers were scheduled to meet during the first 5 days of this year to discuss the issue, but the meeting has since been delayed due to the pandemic.
Minimum wages in the EU vary considerably, from 312 euros in Bulgaria to 2,142 euros in Luxembourg. According to 2020 data, national minimum wages were below €500 a month in Bulgaria, Latvia, Hungary and Romania. While in Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Estonia, Lithuania, Portugal, Greece, Malta and Slovenia, the minimum wage ranged between €500 to €1,000. In Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland and Luxembourg the national minimum wage was no lower than €1000, depending on the country.
