Germany: CDU adds universal minimum wage to its program

The conservatives are converting.  The theme of the introduction of minimum wage has been the sea snake haunting Angela Merkel’s two terms.  After rejecting outright the idea of minimum wage – sectoral or universal – and later accepting the introduction of minimum wage in sectors badly threatened by social dumping – only at the request of the social partners and within the framework of strict, narrow procedures –, the conservative party has now entirely gone over to the side of minimum wage.  It is a quiet victory for German unions – the first to have started the battle for universal minimum wage.  Why this conversion?  First, the number of minijobs, temporary work and cheap subcontracting is booming, fostering a true need for boundaries to wage dumping.  For years of arm wrestling between the political parties and the social partners, the issue of the link between cause and effect between mandatory minimum wage and possible destruction was also defused because of the many studies that showed that one rarely led to the other.  Finally, while the CDU’s ‘social wing’ has been convinced of the legitimacy of this project for quite some time now, the fact that the election is coming near finally convinced the Chancellor and the rest of the party.  By accepting minimum wage, Angela Merkel is meeting German people’s expectations while “stealing” a theme the Left was planning on using against her.