Ver.di and the Greens say that the German minimum wage should be increased to meet the guidelines of an EU Commission directive. 

Green Party push for 15-euro minimum wage by 2026

The trade union ver.di and the Green Party, which make up one-third of Germany’s governing coalition, are pushing for a 15-euro per hour minimum wage to be adopted in the federal republic by 2026.

“Every party which wants to win considerable votes in the federal election should make it clear that they are for a 15-euro per hour minimum wage,” ver.di boss Frank Wernecke told RND. While a specific date is yet to be determined, the next German federal election must be held before October 26, 2025.

As it stands, the German government commission responsible for deciding annual minimum wage increases has only revealed plans to increase the wage from 12,41 to 12,81 euros per hour from January 2025. The wage increase for 2026 will be decided by the German government elected in late 2025.

German minimum wage does not meet EU directive

According to an EU Commission directive minimum wages in EU countries should be 60 percent of the median income. The minimum wage in Germany has been 12,41 euros per hour since January 2024, but if Germany followed the EU directive, the current minimum wage would be slightly more than 14 euros per hour, and almost 15 euros by 2025. 

This means that the increases the Greens and ver.di are pushing for are not much higher than the increases already advised by the EU Commission.

According to figures from the German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis), around 6,4 million workers in Germany earn less than 13 euros per hour, which amounts to 1.402,28 euros per month after tax. “We want a minimum wage that full-time workers can live from,” Greens representative Katharina Dröge told RND.

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