In June 2023 there are many changes. Galeria will close branches, the rights for train passengers will change, and the minimum wage is also an issue. The overview.
Hamm – Long days, short nights: June is coming – and the first summer month of the year brings some changes with it: The first branches of the department store group Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof will close, a decision will be made on a possible increase in the minimum wage, and passenger rights will also be changed for Change rail customer. A large-scale NATO exercise is also planned. An overview of the changes in June 2023:
Changes in June 2023: Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof closes branches
The last major department store group in Germany, Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof, will close a total of 18 branches by June 2023. Other stores will follow on January 31, 2024. Of the 41 branches affected, 14 are in North Rhine-Westphalia. Three Galeria locations were only saved at the end of May. In order to make the remaining branches economically viable, the offer is to be adjusted. According to the company, the product range will be more strongly geared to local and regional needs in the future and will be comprehensively modernized.
- Closing on June 30, 2023: Celle, Coburg, Cottbus, Duisburg-Düsseldorfer Strasse, Gelsenkirchen, Hagen, Hamburg-Harburg, Hamburg-Wandsbek, Leverkusen, Munich train station, Neuss, Nuremberg-Königstrasse, Nuremberg-Langwasser, Offenbach, Paderborn, Saarbrücken train station, Siegen, Wiesbaden- Kirchgasse.
- Closure as of January 31, 2024: Berlin-Charlottenburg, Berlin-Müllerstraße, Bielefeld, Darmstadt-Am Weißen Turm, Düsseldorf-Schadowstraße, Essen, Esslingen, Frankfurt-Zeil, Hanau, Heidelberg Bismarckplatz, Hildesheim, Kempten, Krefeld, Leonberg, Limburg, Lübeck, Mönchengladbach, Pforzheim, Reutlingen , Rosenheim, Schweinfurt, Siegburg, Stuttgart-Eberhard-Strasse, Viernheim, Wuppertal.
Changes in June 2023: Decision on minimum wage
The Minimum Wage Commission will decide in June on a possible adjustment to the minimum wage, which would then come into effect from January 1, 2024. The statutory minimum wage was introduced in 2015. It has been €12 since October 1, 2022. The social association VdK calls for a significant increase in the lower wage limit to 14 euros. The legislator has set up a minimum wage commission to adjust the minimum wage. This is an independent commission of the collective bargaining partners that regularly proposes to the federal government how much the minimum wage should be adjusted. Most recently, on June 30, 2020, she unanimously decided on the third adjustment to the minimum wage.
Changes in June 2023: culture pass for 18-year-olds
The new one is supposed to be in mid-June nationwide culture pass to start. With the help of an app, young people in Germany who turn 18 this year can then buy tickets for cultural events such as cinema, concerts, theater, but also books, sound carriers or musical instruments – worth 200 euros. Large online mail order companies such as Amazon or streaming services and music platforms such as Spotify are excluded from the offer. In order to be able to use the app, you have to identify yourself using the online ID function of your ID card. For EU citizens, this can be done using the eID card and for non-EU citizens using the electronic residence permit.
Changes in June 2023: Train passenger rights are changing
The amended EU passenger guideline will come into force on June 7th. Among other things, this stipulates that if a train is more than an hour late in the future, rail passengers must be reimbursed 25 percent of the ticket price. For more than two hours, even 50 percent can be reclaimed. On the other hand, new scenarios were also added in which there is no entitlement to reimbursement. For example, in exceptional circumstances for which the company itself cannot do anything. This includes, among other things, people on tracks, extreme weather conditions or cable theft.
Changes in June 2023: Fighter jets over Germany
A large-scale Europe-wide NATO maneuver in June is also to be flown over Germany. The Exercise “Air Defender 23” According to the Bundeswehr, this is the largest relocation exercise by air forces since the military alliance came into existence. “From June 12th to 23rd, up to 10,000 exercise participants from 25 nations with 220 aircraft will train under the leadership of the Air Force for air operations in European airspace,” said the Bundeswehr. Fighter jets, transport and tanker aircraft are said to be involved.
The 25 partners and NATO are practicing the joint responsiveness of their air forces in a crisis situation. Germany assumes the role of a defense hub within Europe. There could even be impairments in travel air traffic.
Changes in June 2023: Corona warning app in sleep mode
From June 1, 2023, the Corona-Warn-App will be put into sleep mode. The federal government cites the increased immunity of the population, a stable infection situation and the return to public life without corona measures as reasons. Accordingly, there is currently no need for an app for contact tracing.
News in June 2023: Summer holidays start in the most populous federal state
In North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous and densely populated federal state in Germany, the summer holidays begin on June 22nd and end on August 4th. The rest will follow in July. Bavaria brings up the rear from the end of July to mid-September.