With an hourly wage of 13 or 14 euros, you can’t make any big jumps. Before May 1st, the left asked how many people this would affect. And demands remedial action.
The low-wage sector has shrunk significantly within ten years – but 6.4 million employees in Germany still receive less than 13 euros per hour, one million of them in eastern Germany. The Federal Statistical Office gave the numbers in response to a request from the Left Bundestag group. Left leader Martin Schirdewan renewed the demand to increase the minimum wage from the current 12.41 euros to 15 euros.
The figures from the Federal Statistical Office refer to the so-called low wage threshold of currently 13.04 euros an hour. This is a statistical value: two thirds of the so-called median earnings of currently 19.56 euros. Of around 39.4 million employment relationships last year, 16.3 percent fell into this category. In 2014, according to the statistics office, it was 21.4 percent. The low wage threshold at that time was 10 euros.
Schirdewahn: German minimum wage should be 14.12 euros
If you take a threshold of 14 euros, a total of 8.4 million employees were below this in April 2023 – the Left group in the Bundestag also asked about this according to a report by “Spiegel” shortly before Labor Day on Wednesday Federal Ministry of Social Affairs.
Schirdewan described this figure as a socio-political scandal. According to the EU minimum wage directive, the German minimum wage must be 14.12 euros, but it will not be increased accordingly, criticized the Left chairman. The federal government is denying millions of people a life of dignity.
Left group leader Sören Pellmann added: “What makes matters worse is that the high inflation of recent years has put a particular strain on low incomes. People in eastern Germany are particularly affected by this.” What is needed is a significant increase in the minimum wage and a strengthening of the economy, demanded Pellmann.
Source: Stern
