Unions want minimum wage above 1000 euros: what it would mean for your pay

What happened and when

ERR reported on 12 October 2026 that the Estonian Trade Union Confederation and the Estonian Employers' Confederation started negotiations on the 2027 minimum wage. According to Kaia Vask, head of the Trade Union Confederation, the union is basing its position on an agreement reached in 2023, under which the minimum wage should next year amount to 47.5 percent of the average wage. That would push the minimum wage above 1000 euros a month.

Hando Sutter, head of the Employers' Confederation, said the proposed rate of increase is too steep and that any rise must match what companies can bear, especially those operating outside Tallinn and Tartu. Employers had not yet put forward their own offer on the first day of talks.

Where the minimum wage stands now

Estonia's minimum wage in 2026 is 946 euros a month, equal to 43 percent of the average wage, as the ERR article notes. It rose from 886 euros on 1 April 2026. For comparison, at the start of the century the minimum wage made up only 30 percent of the average wage, and a couple of years ago it stood at 41 percent.

The 47.5 percent level sought by the unions would mark a sharp jump from the current 43 percent. The article does not name an exact euro figure, but states directly that the result would come in above 1000 euros a month.

What the minimum wage means in take-home pay

At the current minimum gross wage of 946 euros, a worker takes home 865.31 euros a month. This comes from deducting unemployment insurance of 15.14 euros, the mandatory funded pension contribution of 18.92 euros (at the 2% Pillar II rate), and income tax of 46.63 euros, calculated after subtracting the 700-euro tax-free allowance from taxable income of 211.94 euros. The employer's total cost for this wage is 1265.75 euros a month, since social tax and the employer's unemployment insurance contribution are added on top.

If the minimum wage rose to, say, 1000 euros a month, the worker's net pay would be 905.92 euros a month, 40.61 euros more than now. The employer's total cost would in that case grow to 1338.00 euros a month, an increase of 72.25 euros compared with today. These figures are based on 2026 tax rates applied to the resulting 54-euro gross increase (1000 minus 946). Readers can run the same calculation with their own pay figures using the salary calculator, and separately check how much a wage costs an employer with the employer cost calculator.

Who is directly affected

ERR notes that 20,000 people in Estonia earn the minimum wage. The minimum wage level also affects several other state payments that are directly tied to it:

• The minimum parental benefit rate, currently 946 euros a month for a parent with no prior income
• The basis for calculating unemployment insurance benefit
• Kindergarten fees in some municipalities, where these are linked to the minimum wage rate

What happens next

According to the ERR article, employers have not yet made their offer, which is expected in upcoming rounds of negotiations. Kaia Vask said the agreement signed three years ago sets a longer-term goal of the minimum wage reaching 50 percent of the average wage. Hando Sutter said account must be taken of economic uncertainty, including pressure from energy prices and inflation heading into winter.

Since negotiations have only just begun and no final agreement has been reached, it is not yet possible to say what the exact 2027 minimum wage will be. What is clear is that every euro of change in the minimum wage feeds directly through to the net income of those earning it and to employers' wage costs, and more broadly affects state benefit rates tied to the minimum wage.