Agricultural
No minimum wage exceptions for seasonal workers
Many harvest helpers only come for the high season. Could exceptions from the minimum wage apply? The Minister of Agriculture was open to this. But now an internal examination resulted in something else.
Minimum wage exceptions for seasonal workers in agriculture are not legally possible after examining the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. This results from the principle of equal treatment in the Basic Law, the department said. The minimum wage is legally anchored as an absolute lower limit. This applies to all job relationships, also for short -term employees and seasonal workers. First, the “Rheinische Post” reported about it.
Minister Alois Rainer had shown himself open to industry claims after exceptions and commissioned the evaluation. The CSU politician told the German Press Agency: “It was very important to me to carefully check this path.” Many companies are under considerable pressure – especially where real manual work is still required as with fruit and vegetables.
Proposal of the farmers’ association
The farmers’ association had proposed that seasonal workers should only receive 80 percent of the minimum wage. The Federal Ministry of Labor already pointed out that this was inadmissible. The statutory minimum wage will increase in two stages to 14.60 euros per hour by 2027.
Rainer said the gradual increase would make many farms with great challenges. In the end, the cultivation must be economically. “That is why we rely on relief elsewhere.” In this way, bureaucracy costs are reduced, the electricity tax is reduced, and there are relief at the agrardiesel again. “In the future, high -quality and affordable foods from our homeland will continue to come on the table.”
dpa
Source: Stern
