Germany: Merkel party considers minimum wage

October 30, 2011

Germany media say Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party is exploring the idea of a minimum wage for workers, abandoning its previous opposition to such a policy.

Merkel’s Christian Democrats are debating a proposal for a minimum wage ahead of a November party congress, the dapd new agency reported Sunday.

Labor Minister Ursula von der Leyen told the Sueddeutsche Zeitung “it is no longer a question of whether we will have a minimum wage, but how we will agree to the right amount.’’

Unions and employers in Germany’s leading industries have traditionally hammered out individual wage agreements.

The proposal suggests the minimum wage be based on the current lowest hourly pay for temporary workers — euro6.89 ($9.76) per hour in the east and euro7.79 ($11.03) in the west.