The national minimum wage in Malta ranked 12th lowest in a comparative table of 20 EU countries drawn up by the European Industrial Relations Observatory.
Malta's monthly minimum wage for adults, at €601.90, was higher last year than in Slovenia, Portugal, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Estonia, Lithuania, Latvia, Romania and Bulgaria. It was, however, lower than that in Greece, Spain, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, the UK, Ireland and Luxembourg.
Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Cyprus and Austria were not included in the study.
The monthly minimum wage was highest in Luxembourg (€1,570.28), followed by Ireland (€1,499.33) and the UK (€1,398.80). The lowest was in Bulgaria (€92.03), followed by Romania (€131.92) and Latvia (€171.40).
The rates for Luxembourg were for unqualified workers. Qualified workers received a wage that was 20 per cent higher.