Germany inches towards postal sector minimum wage
German services union Verdi and the postal employers’ association have agreed on a new formula for their wage contract which could open the way to a deal on a minimum wage in the sector, the union said on Thursday.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservatives and the Social Democrats (SPD), who rule in an uneasy coalition, have been arguing about the possible introduction of a legally binding minimum wage for the sector for months.
A spokeswoman for Verdi said the new version of the wage contract would apply to companies that “predominantly” transport letters.
The formulation is a response to worries from Merkel’s conservatives that Deutsche Post’s competitors, who pay lower wages, could be hit if a minimum wage of between 8 and 9.8 euros was brought in for the whole sector, as the SPD wants.
If the two parties can agree, the wage could come into effect when Deutsche Post’s monopoly ends at the start of next year.
Verdi’s pay commission still has to approve the proposal.
The two parties have been wrangling for months over which employees a minimum wage should apply to and whether that would amount to half of the number of employees in the sector.
Deutsche Post’s competitors, who include Dutch mail company TNT, have said the suggested minimum wage is too high.
