Overview
- The CDU has lodged a motion for its Stuttgart party congress seeking permission to deviate from the statutory wage for seasonal agricultural hires.
- The filing argues these jobs are limited to peak harvest periods, are not full-time, and often involve foreign workers for whom lower rates would still exceed home-country standards.
- The farmers’ association backs relief and has advocated paying 80% of the minimum wage, warning that rising labor costs threaten the sector’s competitiveness.
- SPD leaders reject any exemption, with secretary general Tim Klüssendorf saying the minimum wage must guarantee an income that protects against poverty.
- A July review reportedly found such exemptions likely illegal, the hourly floor rose to €13.90 on January 1 with a further increase planned next year, and seasonal jobs already incur no employer social contributions for up to 90 working days.