In Germany, the minimum wage increases to twelve euros. With the votes of the traffic light coalition and the left, the Bundestag decided on this central election promise by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD). According to the draft law by Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), the lower wage limit is to be increased on October 1, 2022. It is currently EUR 9.82 and will rise to EUR 10.45 on July 1 – that was already decided. CDU, CSU and AfD abstained in the final vote.
“Anyone who has previously earned gross 1,700 euros full-time on the basis of the minimum wage will receive 2,100 euros in the future,” said Heil in the Bundestag. “It’s still not the world, but it’s noticeable in the wallet.” According to the Ministry of Labor, around 6.2 million people in Germany who currently have an hourly wage of less than twelve euros will benefit directly from this – especially women and employees in eastern Germany.
Normally, the minimum wage is negotiated in a commission made up of employers and unions. During their coalition negotiations, the SPD, Greens and FDP had agreed to raise it once by law. This state intervention is met with criticism from business and the Union: he supports raising the minimum wage, but rejects the weakening of the social partners, said the deputy chairman of the Union faction, Herrmann Gröhe (CDU). The chairman of the Union workers’ group, Axel Knoerig (CDU), accused Federal Labor Minister Heil of having disempowered the minimum wage commission.
The limit for mini-jobs that do not incur taxes and social security contributions will also rise: from 450 to 520 euros. From the point of view of the FDP, this is positive for more than six million mini-jobbers.
Minister of Labor Heil also announced a collective bargaining agreement for the federal government. The minimum wage is only a lower limit, the federal government also wants more wages. “That’s why we will ensure that in future federal orders only go to companies that pay according to tariffs,” said Heil. “That is clearly anchored in the coalition agreement.” So far, however, the federal government has not made any proposal.