ALLIANCE FO§ DEMOCRACY

Minimum wage in Bremen and Hamburg

In the North, the city-states of Hamburg and Bremen (both SPD-lead) are basking in the slogan “Bremen and Hamburg pay € 8.50 minimum wage”. From 1st September 2012, Bremen made € 8.50/hr mandatory, and has now been followed by Hamburg.
In Bremen, the fixed wage no longer applies only for companies that are in government service, but also for companies that are publicly subsidised. And while Hamburg’s government congratulates itself on also having taken this step and setting a minimum wage of € 8.50/hr for companies subsidised by the state, Bremen still claims to be first amongst the forerunners, and plans to introduce the minimum wage for all companies in the state.
With this step, Bremen would then conform to EU regulations, although the question is already being asked as to whether this is a good move or not.
Then there was the problem that the good intention of paying the unusual € 8.50/hr in care institutions would entail high costs, which would saddle the state budget with substantial debts, because the costs had not been calculated properly. Economic experts are also arguing over to what extent the minimum wage might help to achieve the growth hoped for so long, or conversely even prevent such growth.
It is already clear, the whole thing sounds like waiting to win the lottery, but the leaders of the state must be seen to be doing something for their salaries, and a public dispute over the use of taxpayers’ money appears to fit the bill perfectly.
And if the problem also serves to pretend to the government (and particularly the FDP, which resolved at the Party Conference in May exactly what the CDU/CSU has been saying for a long time: Minimum wage limits are great!) that the minimum wage is a worthwhile subject to pursue (for the election battle), then it must also be clear which way the wind is blowing: from party-political tactical manoeuvring. We know from experience that this wind is particularly cold. So, let us dress up warmly and wait to see what the minimum wage in Bremen and Hamburg actually brings with it for the employed and for the state finances. And then let us see how the election topic of the lower wage limit (neoliberal for minimum wage) develops, because from Merkel’s point of view, the prospect of EU conformity on such an important subject should have an invigorating effect. Lower wage limits would then no longer be a subject of interest on the EU stage, and Germany would then stand out brilliantly again, because it is a matter of the establishment of the Dictatorial Neoliberal Greater Europe. Germany has often performed brilliantly in such roles – how appropriate that the time for such a performance seems to have come again.
For Bremen and Hamburg, this means at least a passing mention in some history book, perhaps in the appendix or as a footnote – this in itself would at least be something amongst the greater doings in Europe, and the burden on the taxpayers, who can hardly afford € 8.50/hr in view of the steady decline in value of the currency, would then be quickly forgotten. But no, nobody ever thought of them anyway, and certainly nobody will think any more about an adjustment of the hourly rate! Nor about the fact that in significant areas – apart from genuine mini-jobs – gross is by no means equivalent to net, which the FDP always talks about, which plays a decisive role for employers and specially for employees, because they still have to get by on the net wage. And in this way € 8.50/hr can very quickly become € 6.50/hr.