Employer President Dulger warns against political influence in favor of a higher minimum wage. Greens, trade unions and social organizations, on the other hand, are calling for reforms.
In the debate about an increase in the minimum wage, employers’ president Rainer Dulger firmly rejected calls for political intervention. “Populism with the pay packet only leads to even higher inflation. That’s dangerous,” Dulger told the dpa news agency. The Minimum Wage Commission had decided to increase it from 12 to 12.41 euros next year and to 12.82 euros in 2025.
“It’s in the nature of things that compromise doesn’t please everyone,” Dulger said. “In order to protect collective bargaining autonomy, the minimum wage should be based on collective wage developments.” The minimum wage must not become a political pawn again before the next federal election.
Greens, trade unions and social organizations are calling for reforms
Greens, trade unions and social organizations called for reforms for a higher minimum wage. “It must be laid down in law that the minimum wage is defined as 60 percent of the median wage,” said the Greens’ social politician Frank Bsirske. The median wage is the middle wage in the income structure.
“The decision to increase the minimum wage by 41 cents from next year is a slap in the face for millions of employees in the low-wage sector,” criticized Verena Bentele, president of the social association VdK. “For millions of employees, this increase means that they can hardly afford their everyday lives.”
Call for a minimum wage of at least 14 euros
There can no longer be any talk of building up a pension that is enough to live on. “From the point of view of the VdK, the government must now urgently intervene, as it did last year by raising the minimum wage by law to twelve euros.” The minimum wage must be at least 14 euros in order to noticeably relieve the burden on people who belong to the lowest income groups.
The head of the German trade union federation Yasmin Fahimi called for changed rules for the minimum wage commission. Here, the union side was outvoted in the controversial minimum wage resolution because the independent chairwoman voted with the employers. If a joint agreement between employees and employers does not come about, “a real arbitration procedure is required,” said Fahimi.