the minimum wage will increase “by a little more than 2%” on May 1, assures Élisabeth Borne

Prime Minister Élisabeth 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” to defend purchasing power after inflation in March. a little stronger than expected.

This inflation, which reached 5.7%, i.e. slightly more than the 5.6% initially forecast by INSEE, will mechanically lead “to a revaluation of the minimum wage on May 1 by just over 2%”, bringing 6% its increase over one year, explained the head of government during a trip to Hips, in Eure-et-Loir.

According to the office of the Minister of Labor Olivier Dussopt, the increase will be 2.19%. The hourly minimum wage will thus increase from €11.27 gross to €11.52, i.e. €1,747.20 gross per month against €1,709.28 previously, which corresponds to an increase of €37.92 gross per month. The monthly net minimum wage on 1 May will amount to €1,383.08, against €1,353.07 previously, an increase of €30.01 net per month.

Renegotiate pay scales

During the visit to a hypermarket, which was interrupted several times by a few demonstrators hostile to the pension reform, Élisabeth Borne called on companies to “renegotiate salary scales as quickly as possible” for employees so that employees who earn a little more than the minimum wage are not penalized.

“I invite all the professional branches and all the companies that can to also mobilize to respond to this first concern of the French which is purchasing power”, she declared.

Anti-inflation basket

During this trip with the Minister Delegate 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 surge in the prices of food and hygiene products,” said the chef. of the government.

She also assured that “for all the brands that have committed to the anti-inflation quarter (which expires on June 15), on the products that are in the basket, prices have fallen by 5% on average”. She estimated this drop at 7% for the Système U network, of which she visited one of the stores.

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.

The minimum wage benefits each year from a mechanical increase on 1 January which takes into account the weighted price increase for the 20% of households with the lowest incomes. Revaluations also take place during the year as soon as inflation exceeds 2%.

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