Gotta Earn It: Miersch Presses for Minimum Wage Boost to 15 Euros
Raise Minimum Wage: Miersch Advocates for Increase to €15 - Raise Minimum Wage: Miersch Advocates for Increase to 15 Euros by Commission
Want a fatter paycheck? Union and SPD want you to have 'em! According to their coalition agreement, they plan to up the minimum wage based on wage growth. "That's right, a minimum wage of 15 euros by 2026 is on the table," they says in the agreement. But who's gonna make it happen? That's where the minimum wage commission comes in.
But hold your horses, CDU politician Gitta Connemann ain't buyin' into politically set minimum wages. "The minimum wage commission makes their decisions based on facts, not wishful politics," she stresses on podcast Politico. According to the coalition agreement, this is a fact, hoss.
Steffen Kampeter, the big boss at Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA), is against jacking the minimum wage up to 15 euros. "The number 15 is just populist nonsense, without no truth behind it," he tells the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. Raising it that much would be "economic suicide," he warns.
The minimum wage commission, a gang of employer and union reps, is supposed to decide the minimum wage for 2026 and 2027 by the end of June. According to Kampeter, they ain't bound by no political orders. In the past, Federal Minister of Labor, Bärbel Bas (SPD), has called for a boost to 15 euros, potentially even getting involved politically. As it stands, the statutory minimum wage is 12.82 euros per hour.
What's the Deal with Minimum Wage?
- Objective Decision Making
- Wage and Labor Market Trends
- Independence of the Commission
- Coalition Agreement (Political Stance)
- CDU (Political Opposition)
- Employer's Associations
Enrichment Data:
While the Commission strives for independence in setting wage recommendations, the government has expressed the goal of achieving a minimum wage of 15 euros by 2026. The Commission considers wage and labor market trends, using 60% of the median gross wage of full-time employees as a benchmark for its recommendations[4][5]. The Commission's independence is emphasized, suggesting that any increase would need to align with its procedural standards[2][5].
However, Federal Minister of Labor, Bärbel Bas, has mentioned the possibility of political intervention if the Commission does not recommend a wage near 15 euros[5]. It's worth noting that there is currently no specific mention of Matthias Miersch in the context of these discussions.
As the Commission finalizes their recommendations for the 2026 and 2027 minimum wage decisions, their analysis will be crucial. The government aims for a 15 euro minimum wage by 2026, but the Commission's independence means that any increase must be based on its analysis of economic conditions[4][5]. Since the specific stance of the Commission for the 2027 minimum wage decision is unclear, future decisions will likely remain influenced by labor market trends and economic indicators.
- The CDU politician Gitta Connemann believes that the minimum wage commission makes decisions based on facts, not influenced by wishful politics, in contrast to the coalition agreement's aim to boost the minimum wage to 15 euros by 2026.
- Steffen Kampeter, from the Confederation of German Employers' Associations, argues against increasing the minimum wage to 15 euros, claiming that it would be economic suicide and that the commission is not bound by political orders.
