Germany raises minimum wage

28 Jun, 2016

BERLIN: Germany's hourly minimum wage will rise by 34 cents to 8.84 euros in 2017, in line with average salary raises in the public service, the commission in charge of setting the rate said Tuesday.

The increase is the first since Europe's biggest economy first introduced a national minimum wage of 8.50 euros on January 1, 2015.

Chancellor Angela Merkel had for long been opposed to setting a minimum rate, but signed off on it in order to get the centre-left Social Democrats to be junior partners in her ruling coalition.

Unions and employers in Germany's powerful metalworking industry agreed on a 4.8-percent pay hike in May, setting the tone for salary negotiations in most other key sectors of Europe's biggest economy.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2016

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