The German Trade Union Federation (DGB) will prevent a new fixation of the minimum wage by the politics.
“Our organization will hold on to the commission and take care that there is no reason for the politics to intervene”said Stefan Körzell, DGB federal board member and member of the minimum wage commission; to the partner newspapers of the New Berlin Editorial Society (Monday editions).
After the recent federal election, the traffic light government had set aside the minimum wage commission on the SPD’s insistence. The Social Democrats are also campaigning in the current election campaign to increase the minimum wage. Körzell is not surprised that the debate is now again about a political intervention. The basis for this debate is the last “mini-increase decided by the commission”.
In the summer of 2023, the minimum wage commission had decided on an increase to 12.82 euros. This was passed by the employers with the vote of the chairperson against the will of the employee side. Körzell also rejects an automatic adjustment of the minimum wage, for example, in line with the inflation rate. “An automation would, however, restrict the freedom of the commission. In any case, the commission has often achieved more than the tariff index provided for – to the benefit of the employees”he said.
For the trade unions, the goal remains unchanged: a poverty-proof minimum wage, as international standards and the EU minimum wage directive provide for: 60 percent of the average income of full-time employees must be reached. This corresponds to approximately 15 euros. “We will stay with that”they said.