Employment sector - Andresen supports increasing the minimum wage to 14 euros.
Rasmus Andresen, a German MEP for Schleswig-Holstein, has advocated for raising the minimum wage in Germany. "Schleswig-Holstein has the lowest wages in western Germany," he shared with the German Press Agency. "Many individuals would profit from an increase in the minimum wage to 14 euros," Andresen declared. His goal is to reduce poverty in the north using the European Union's help. The current minimum wage in Germany stands at 12.41 euros.
Back in October 2022, EU member states established the foundation for the EU's minimum wage directive. The directive provides instructions on determining suitable minimum wages and advocating collective bargaining. Andresen commented, "Although the level is open with a recommended 60% of the median wage, which would be 14 euros in Germany, it would result in a pay hike for eight million people."
"Poverty has been increasing in the EU in recent years," Andresen added. "Most individuals have experienced a loss of real income." The EU must take action to bridge the social divide, such as using the EU's minimum wage to ensure higher national minimum wages.
The trade union Verdi and the German Greens in Parliament have spoken in favor of boosting the minimum wage to 15 euros an hour. Verdi's Executive Director, Frank Werneke, claimed real wages have not changed because of the EU directive. "The target is that the minimum wage should equate to 60% of the median income, which is currently over 14 euros," he noted in an interview with Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND). "As average wages continue to increase, it will be necessary to raise the minimum wage to 15 euros an hour by 2026." Verdi recommended that any party aiming to win over broad swaths of the population in the Bundestag election campaign states their support for a 15 euro per hour minimum wage.
The minimum wage will edge up from the current 12.41 euros to 12.82 euros in 2025. The SPD and Greens have long criticized this increment as insufficient.
Green Parliamentary Group leader Katharina Dröge told RND that a minimum wage would be essential so full-time workers can live comfortably. "We suggest the lower threshold for the minimum wage should be 60% of the median wage, as per the EU proposal. That would entail a minimum wage of over 14 euros in 2024 and slightly under 15 euros in 2025," Dröge said. Green Party Chairwoman Ricarda Lang also backed a change in the Minimum Wage Commission's decision-making process. She mentioned the vote against the trade unions the year before led to real wages stagnating for many. "I want us to boost the minimum wage to 14 euros as a one-time increase," Lang shared on RTL/ntv Frühstart.
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Source: www.stern.de
