Advertisement

6.6 million people 'set to benefit from €12 minimum wage' in Germany

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
6.6 million people 'set to benefit from €12 minimum wage' in Germany
Euro coins in a jar. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/Unsplash | Clark Germany GmbH

According to a new study, Germany's new €12 minimum wage will benefit more than 6.6 million people when it comes into force on October 1st.

Advertisement

Currently, around 6.64 million workers in Germany earn less than €12 gross per hour, according to new statistics published by the Hans Böckler Foundation' Institute of Economic and Social Research (WSI), a trade union-linked research foundation. 

Among those now benefiting from the increase, 2.55 million are in full-time employment, according to the WSI. Nationwide, just under one in ten full-time workers and around 20 percent of part-time workers earn less than €12 per hour. Among mini-jobbers, the figure is as high as 80 percent.

Under a flagship policy of the Social Democrats (SPD), Germany's national minimum wage is set to increase from €10.45 to €12 per hour on October 1st. The last increase was on July 1st this year. 

READ ALSO: ‘Biggest pay rise of their lives’: Germany hikes minimum wage to €12

Advertisement

The move is "a ray of hope in these difficult times" that will help low-paid workers handle the rising cost of living, Stefan Körzell, an executive board member of the German Trade Unions Federation (DGB), said on Tuesday. 

However, the DGB said more controls were needed to ensure that workers actually receive the statutory minimum wage. According the trade unions, employees across numerous sectors are currently earning less than the legal minimum. 

"The federal government must significantly increase the staffing of the responsible authority, Finanzkontrolle Schwarzarbeit," Körzell said.

In addition to the wage hike, unions are also calling for more relief from the government to help cushion the impact of the rising cost of living. 

In particular, they are advocating for energy price flat rate and an energy price cap that could be paid for by skimming off the "excess profits of the large energy and mineral oil companies", Körzell explained. 

From Wednesday, the DGB will run information campaigns on the minimum wage increase at more than 230 railway stations and market places throughout Germany.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: Will Germany set a gas price cap and how would it work?

More

Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.

Please log in to leave a comment.

See Also