The news. Friedrich Merz’s German Conservative-Social Democrat coalition has, for now, ruled out the outright abolition of “minijobs”—those part-time jobs paying less than €603 per month, which are widespread in retail, catering and agriculture. However, the tax and social security status applied to these contracts remains at the heart of the pension reform expected in the Bundestag by the end of the year, as the government seeks by all available means to broaden the contribution base. In any c
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As a Berlin correspondent for the French and Swiss press since the late 1990s, I cover a wide range of economic, political and social issues, with a particular focus on the German business and labour market. My areas of interest include co-determination, digitalisation, demographics and ESG/DEI policies.