Germany: after the temporary sector, surveillance is getting sectoral minimum wage

Germany’s solutions to wage dumping.  The government has kept its promise.  To protect German workers against the risk of social dumping with the opening of the labor market to eastern European citizens (see our dispatch No.  110295), the government promised to introduce sectoral minimum wage, provided they were negotiated by representative social partners.  Ursula von der Leyen, Minister of Labor, defended this special German system by explaining that these wages negotiated by the social partners took better account of the specificities of each industry than general statutory minimum wage, which unions wanted.  After the temporary sector (see our dispatch No.  110201), surveillance is now the tenth sector to get sectoral minimum wage via the “Posted Workers’ Act” (Entsendegesetz).  Negotiated by the Verdi services union and the BDWS employers’ organization (see our dispatch No.  100258), this salary will range between €6.53 (in the new Länder) and €8.6 (in Bade-Württemberg).  It will be increased twice, in all the Länder, on March 1, 2012 and on January 1, 2013 thus ranging from €7.5 to €8.9 depending on the Länder.  The decree introducing this wage will expire on December 31, 2013.  Besides, the government announced that, in the fall, it would assess all existing sectoral minimum wages to determine whether or not they represent an obstacle to job creation.
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ed by the Verdi services union and the BDWS employers’ organization (see our dispatch No. 100258), this salary will range between €6.53 (in the new Länder) and €8.6 (in Bade-Württemberg). It will be increased twice, in all the Länder, on March 1, 2012 and on January 1, 2013 thus ranging from €7.5 to €8.9 depending on the Länder. The decree introducing this wage will expire on December 31, 2013. Besides, the government announced that, in the fall, it would assess all existing sectoral minimu

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