German postal workers get minimum wage

After months of argument, a minimum wage has finally been introduced for workers in the German postal sector.

Germany is one of only seven countries in the European Union not to have a national minimum wage and, the issue has become a key union demand.

The centre-right CDU party opposes the idea — but its partner in the coalition government, the social democratic SPD, is in favour. In a compromise last year, the government agreed to use existing legislation to introduce minimum rates in a number of industries.

The postal workers are among the first groups to benefit, with minimum rates ranging from ¤8.00 (£6.00) to ¤9.80 (£7.35) introduced on 1 January. However, the establishment of these rates involved bruising arguments between the coalition partners.

And there was further disagreement last month, when SPD labour minister Olaf Scholz set out proposals that will make it easier to introduce minimum rates more widely. CDU politician Laurenz Meyer accused Scholz of going beyond what had been agreed between the parties, adding: “What happens certainly won’t be what Herr Scholz has proposed”.

Meanwhile, the pressure for a German minimum wage appears to be growing. It was one of the key themes in last month’s regional elections in Hesse, where the CDU suffered a crushing defeat.