Saxony's Minister of Economic Affairs, Martin Dulig, has spoken out in favor of a rapid increase in the minimum wage to 12 euros per hour.
In the Free State alone, around 610,000 people and almost every third employee would benefit, said the SPD politician in Dresden on Monday.
He referred to exploratory talks at the federal level - a higher minimum wage is a central point of the SPD.
Dresden - "Employees must experience respect and appreciation."
Dulig referred to a study commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs on the introduction of the nationwide minimum wage at the beginning of 2015. This had shown that, contrary to what had been feared, there had been no dampening effects on investments by companies and employment dynamics in Saxony in the long term.
In view of the discussion about a further increase, he warned against a "déjà-vu".
In view of the shortage of skilled workers, fair wages are important for companies.
According to Dulig, there will be around 200,000 fewer people of working age in Saxony alone by 2030.
For the study, the implementation and impact of the minimum wage in Saxony was examined over a period of about five years.
The Free State was accordingly more affected than other federal states - the study cites the small-scale company structure, low collective bargaining coverage and the border location as reasons for this.
Compared to other federal states, the hourly and monthly wages rose more sharply, while labor costs for companies rose at the same time.
Around 13 percent of all employees received more wages - more than in any other federal state.
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Despite these factors, there is no “mass circumvention” of the minimum wage, according to the study.
After evaluating the data, most companies comply with the minimum wage rules.
In 2018, one and a half administrative offense proceedings per 1,000 companies were registered for non-compliance.
There were deficiencies, for example, in the recording of working hours or the offsetting of hourly wages with other services.
Violations of the reporting and documentation requirements occurred less often.
The minimum wage is currently EUR 9.60.
According to the recommendation of the minimum wage commission, it should rise to 10.45 euros by July 2022.
dpa
