WOW (World Organization of Workers) sees the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgment on 11 November 2025 as an important victory for European workers, especially for organizations outside the traditional collective bargaining parties in Germany and Denmark.
The ECJ has delivered its judgment on Denmark’s legal action against the EU Minimum Wage Directive. The judgment establishes that the EU has the competence to intervene in member states‘ wage setting to ensure decent working conditions for all workers. The Directive and its core obligations remain intact.
What is the Core Message of the Judgment?
- The EU won the main case: The Court rejected Denmark’s claim to annul the entire Directive.
- The EU may ensure decent conditions: The judgment confirms that the EU can legally dictate that Member States must ensure adequate minimum wage protection and promote collective bargaining.
- A small limitation: Denmark received a small concession as the Court annulled two paragraphs in Article 5, which stipulate that the EU may not interfere directly in setting the level of the wage itself (e.g., by dictating criteria for calculation). The wage level itself remains a matter of national competence.
Key Consequences for WOW’s member organizations
The judgment reinforces the Directive’s central requirement – the obligation to act when collective bargaining coverage is too low. This gives WOW’s members in countries with low coverage a stronger political position.
Consequences for Germany
- Binding requirement for action: Germany has a collective bargaining coverage of approximately 50%. The Directive is intact and obliges Germany to draw up an action plan to increase coverage above 80%.
- Opens the door for influence: This requirement gives WOW’s German member organisations, who are often marginalised, a direct opportunity to pressure the government to:
- Question German practice that excludes certain organisations from collective bargaining capacity (Tariffähigkeit).
- Promote their proposals for increasing collective bargaining coverage.
Consequences for Denmark
- Collective bargaining coverage under scrutiny: Existing statistics pointing to coverage below 80% (e.g., 69%) mean that Denmark may be forced to act to increase coverage.
- Path to statutory rights: The judgment confirms that the EU may intervene to ensure working poor a decent living. This increases pressure on Denmark to secure workers who live without collective agreement-based or legislative minimum rights.
- Strengthened position: For WOW’s Danish member, this is an opening to gain political influence, as legislation in this area makes it harder for the traditional parties to exclude non-recognized organizations from the debate.
WOW’s Call to Action
The judgment confirms the EU’s ambition for social justice and upward social convergence. WOW will use this judgment to demand that the governments of Germany and Denmark acknowledge their obligations and actively involve all organizations representing workers in the effort to create better minimum wage protection.
