Germany: the large coalition finally accepted minimum wage in the postal sector

After months of controversy, on November 29, 2007, the two large ruling parties, the CDU/CSU and the SPD, put an end to their disagreement on the establishment of a minimum wage in the postal sector (see our articles n° 070730, 070852, 070931). Teetering between 8 and 9.8 Euros an hour according to sectors and regions, it should come into effect on January 1, 2008, at the same time as the liberalisation of the postal market. This outcome was made possible by an unexpected compromise from the services union Ver.di. (Ref. 070983)
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Indeed, the German services union Ver.di accepted to revise the agreement on the creation of a branch minimum wage which it had signed on September 14 with the employers’ organisation AGV, controlled by the Deutsche Post (see our article No. 070722). Social partners decided, as the conservatives were asking, to limit its coverage. Thus, the revised text specifies: “the collective agreement applies to the service branch of letter distribution (Briefdienstleistungen). It concerns all companies or

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