Germany: government introduces first ever minimum salary for apprentices

In a first for the nation, on 15 May in Berlin, Germany's grand coalition of conservatives and center-left Social Democrats (SPD) adopted draft legislation that reforms the Law on Occupational Training (Berufsbildungsgesetz) and intends for the introduction of a minimum legal salary to be paid to apprentices. From 01 January 2020, apprentices will receive a monthly minimum amount of €515 during their first year of training. This will be steadily increased to reach €620 by 2023. The draft law was formulated by the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Anja Karliczek (CDU) with close collaboration from the German Employers Federation (BDA) and the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB). The draft text includes a compromise so that in certain sectors and regions, the social partners can adopt less generous salary amounts as part of their collective agreement frameworks, and which will take precedence over the legislative text. In spite of this compromise, the future law has been roundly criticized by the German Confederation of Skilled Crafts (ZDH).