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Düsseldorf (dpa / lnw) - The German trade union federation (DGB NRW) has again campaigned for an increase in the minimum wage to 12 euros with a view to the level of earnings in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The DGB NRW announced on Monday that many workers in the most populous federal state would benefit from this.
According to a DGB evaluation, around one in four employees (25.7 percent) earns less than 12 euros an hour in NRW.
This especially affects women.
According to this, 31.5 percent of all working women in North Rhine-Westphalia work for an hourly wage below 12 euros.
The statutory minimum wage will rise on January 1st from currently 9.35 euros per hour to 9.50 euros. Federal Finance Minister Olaf Scholz and Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (both SPD) had called for an increase to 12 euros per hour. The DGB state chairwoman, Anja Weber, also said: "Wages below 12 euros must be a thing of the past, they are poverty wages and deprive many employees in the low-wage sector of the possibility of an adequate retirement age." A political change of course is "overdue".