Latest news with #SocialDemocrats
Nahar Net
6 hours ago
- Business
- Nahar Net
German minimum wage set to rise by about 14% over the next 18 months
by Naharnet Newsdesk 4 hours Germany's minimum wage is set to rise by about 14% over the next 18 months under an agreement that appears to defuse a potentially divisive issue for the new government. A commission in which employers and labor unions are represented recommended on Friday that the minimum wage rise from its current 12.82 euros ($15) per hour to 13.90 euros at the beginning of 2026 and 14.60 euros a year later. The head of the panel, Christiane Schönefeld, said it faced "a particular challenge this year in view of the stagnating economy and the uncertain forecasts." She said it conducted "very difficult talks, which were complicated further by the expectations expressed in public." Germany, which has Europe's biggest economy, has had a national minimum wage since 2015. It was introduced at the insistence of the center-left Social Democrats, who were then — as they are now now — the junior partners in a conservative-led government. It started off at 8.50 euros per hour, but the independent commission reviews its level regularly. There has been one political intervention, however: under then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, the government in 2022 ordered an increase to 12 euros an hour, fulfilling a campaign pledge by Scholz. In their campaign for this year's election, the Social Democrats called for an increase to 15 euros. New Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc strongly opposed another government-ordered raise. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, a leading Social Democrat, said she would implement the commission's proposal. She said she "can live well with it." "Of course we wanted more for people in this country," she told reporters. But she praised the panel for reaching consensus on an increase, "because it looked for a long time as though we wouldn't get an agreement at all, and then of course we would have had to talk in the coalition about how to deal with this."
7 hours ago
- Business
German minimum wage set to rise by about 14% over the next 18 months
BERLIN -- Germany's minimum wage is set to rise by about 14% over the next 18 months under an agreement that appears to defuse a potentially divisive issue for the new government. A commission in which employers and labor unions are represented recommended on Friday that the minimum wage rise from its current 12.82 euros ($15) per hour to 13.90 euros at the beginning of 2026 and 14.60 euros a year later. The head of the panel, Christiane Schönefeld, said it faced 'a particular challenge this year in view of the stagnating economy and the uncertain forecasts.' She said it conducted 'very difficult talks, which were complicated further by the expectations expressed in public.' Germany, which has Europe's biggest economy, has had a national minimum wage since 2015. It was introduced at the insistence of the center-left Social Democrats, who were then — as they are now now — the junior partners in a conservative-led government. It started off at 8.50 euros per hour, but the independent commission reviews its level regularly. There has been one political intervention, however: under then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, the government in 2022 ordered an increase to 12 euros an hour, fulfilling a campaign pledge by Scholz. In their campaign for this year's election, the Social Democrats called for an increase to 15 euros. New Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc strongly opposed another government-ordered raise. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, a leading Social Democrat, said she would implement the commission's proposal. She said she 'can live well with it.' 'Of course we wanted more for people in this country,' she told reporters. But she praised the panel for reaching consensus on an increase, 'because it looked for a long time as though we wouldn't get an agreement at all, and then of course we would have had to talk in the coalition about how to deal with this.'
The Journal
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Journal
Homelessness figures hit record of 15,747 people in emergency accommodation
LAST UPDATE | 10 mins ago A RECORD NUMBER of people in the State are officially recognised as homeless as the latest figures reveal 15,747 people were living in emergency accommodation in May. This is an increase of 167 people on the 15,580 people recorded as homeless in April. The figure includes 4,844 children – some 69 more than last month. The statistics do not include people rough sleeping, refugees, asylum seekers, individuals in domestic violence shelters, or those experiencing 'hidden homelessness', such as sleeping in cars, on couches, or other unsuitable living conditions. The figures are taken from the week of 19-25 May Of the adults accessing emergency accommodation, 7,734 were in Co Dublin. Some 655 adults were in Cork, 505 were in Limerick, and 236 were in Galway. Meanwhile, there were 3,589 children living in emergency accommodation in Dublin. There were also 2,273 accessing emergency accommodation. Focus Ireland CEO Pat Dennigan said the 'government's current approach to homelessness is failing'. Advertisement 'There needs to be far more urgency in the Government's response to help end this terrible human crisis,' he added. Dublin Simon Community has called on Taoiseach Michéal Martin to 'bring stability to an unstable market for those in precarious rental agreements and those with nowhere to call home'. 'A housing crisis may be on the political agenda, but its most devastating consequence — homelessness — remains overlooked,' added Catherine Kenny, CEO of Dublin Simon Community. Elsewhere, Sinn Féin's housing spokesperson Eoin Ó Broin accused the government of 'failing children'. He remarked that since 2014, 'there has been a 450% increase in child homelessness'. 'The dramatic increase in child homelessness over the last decade is the direct result of the failure of government to deliver a sufficient volume of social and affordable homes,' said Ó Broin. 'It is the result of government failing to prevent families with children from becoming homeless and a result of the government's failure to get families with children out of emergency accommodation in a timely manner.' Meanwhile, the Social Democrats described it as a 'shameful milestone'. Its housing spokesperson Rory Hearne remarked that the State 'could be facing a national redress scheme for children who have been in emergency accommodation'. 'The government knows the deeply damaging impact any length of time in homelessness has on young people, yet it is not doing everything it can to prevent children from becoming homeless,' he added. Hearne called on the government to 'maintain rent caps between tenancies, and extend the no fault evictions ban to all tenancies'. Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Nahar Net
8 hours ago
- Business
- Nahar Net
German minimum wage set to rise by about 14% over the next 18 months
by Naharnet Newsdesk 27 June 2025, 15:51 Germany's minimum wage is set to rise by about 14% over the next 18 months under an agreement that appears to defuse a potentially divisive issue for the new government. A commission in which employers and labor unions are represented recommended on Friday that the minimum wage rise from its current 12.82 euros ($15) per hour to 13.90 euros at the beginning of 2026 and 14.60 euros a year later. The head of the panel, Christiane Schönefeld, said it faced "a particular challenge this year in view of the stagnating economy and the uncertain forecasts." She said it conducted "very difficult talks, which were complicated further by the expectations expressed in public." Germany, which has Europe's biggest economy, has had a national minimum wage since 2015. It was introduced at the insistence of the center-left Social Democrats, who were then — as they are now now — the junior partners in a conservative-led government. It started off at 8.50 euros per hour, but the independent commission reviews its level regularly. There has been one political intervention, however: under then-Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, the government in 2022 ordered an increase to 12 euros an hour, fulfilling a campaign pledge by Scholz. In their campaign for this year's election, the Social Democrats called for an increase to 15 euros. New Chancellor Friedrich Merz's conservative bloc strongly opposed another government-ordered raise. Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, a leading Social Democrat, said she would implement the commission's proposal. She said she "can live well with it." "Of course we wanted more for people in this country," she told reporters. But she praised the panel for reaching consensus on an increase, "because it looked for a long time as though we wouldn't get an agreement at all, and then of course we would have had to talk in the coalition about how to deal with this."
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Euronews
German lawmakers vote to curb family reunification programme
German lawmakers on Friday voted to suspend family reunification rights for migrants who fall short of full asylum status, part of Chancellor Friedrich Merz's push to crack down on immigration. The lower house of Parliament voted 444 to 135 in favour of suspending family reunions for migrants with subsidiary protection, a status granted to people allowed to stay because it's too dangerous to return home, even though they are not officially recognised as refugees. As of the end of March, more than 388,000 people in Germany, primarily Syrians, held subsidiary protection status. The new legislation suspends rules introduced in 2018 that allowed up to 1,000 close relatives per month to join migrants with this status. Until now, German authorities made case-by-case decisions based on humanitarian grounds, rather than granting an automatic right to family reunification. The law does not affect individuals who have been granted asylum or recognised as refugees under the Geneva Refugee Convention. Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt told lawmakers the change would reduce the number of people able to come to Germany by around 12,000 per year and would "break a business model" for human traffickers. Dobrindt defended the measure, arguing that the country's "capacity for integration simply has a limit." "Many people know they won't receive full refugee recognition," Dobrindt said, "but they still head for Germany because it's known that, even without asylum status, you can bring your family later. That creates a strong pull factor, and today, we are eliminating that pull factor." The Social Democrats (SPD) — a member party of Merz's governing coalition — expressed concerns about the legislation but ultimately agreed to it as part of a political compromise. Germany's Minister for Migration, Refugees and Integration, Natalie Pawlik, acknowledged the discomfort within her party, saying, "Integration works better when families are together." She added, however, that the SPD would support the measure, noting it does not apply to so-called hardship cases and is limited to two years. The bill approved on Friday marks the first migration legislation passed since Merz took office. His government has pledged tougher immigration policies amid mounting public pressure.
