Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil supports Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (both SPD) push for a significant increase in the statutory minimum wage. In an interview with Deutschlandfunk, he said that the discussions next year must result in “a significant increase.” If, as was the case last time, no consensus is reached, then “there will definitely be a political discussion” about the relevant law.
In this case, we need to talk about “whether we need to tighten up the criteria for determining what increases should be made,” Heil continued in the interview. However, the process is still in the hands of the minimum wage commission, which has equal representation on both sides.
In mid-May, Chancellor Scholz spoke out in favor of gradually increasing the statutory minimum wage to 15 euros. In doing so, he also triggered a debate about the independent work of the minimum wage commission. As a result, calls for a minimum wage of 15 euros also increased from the ranks of the SPD, the Greens and the unions.
The minimum wage was raised to twelve euros per hour in a one-off step in October 2022 based on a political decision. Subsequently, the Minimum Wage Commission decided on further increases annually as usual.
Since the beginning of 2024, the minimum wage has been 12.41 euros, and according to the Commission’s decision, a further increase of 41 cents is planned for the beginning of 2025. Most recently, however, the employee representatives were outvoted by the employers’ side.