News

German court subverts German government's decision on minimum wages



In a decision Friday, a Berlin court has subverted the decision by the German government that there should be a minimum wage for postal workers in Germany. Earlier in the year the German government introduced a minimum wage for postal workers to ensure workers in the newly liberalised market would be paid a living wage. Some companies operating in the German market such as TNT, are paying wages that can only be described as a "pittance" as they try to wrestle market share from Deutsche Post. TNT in an attempt to beat the minimum wage laws set up a "ghost" union which they then made a bogus collective contract with. The court has now ruled this "bogus" contract overrides the minimum wage law. This despite the German Labour Ministry refusing to register the "ghost " union, GNBZ.



UNI's German affiliate Ver.di has condemned the court's decision and supported the German Labour Ministry which says it is going to appeal the decision to a higher court. In their press release Ver.di have said that this is a totally incomprehensible decision from the court that makes a law set down by the government worthless. Ver.di's spokesperson has said that the court has assisted a company to trivialise the decisions of the government and to use a bogus union to put the axe on any regulations for minimum wages. UNI and Ver.di demand that TNT stop their opposition to the minimum wage and recognise that workers should have a decent living wage and not be paid a pittance in the pursuit of profits and bonuses for a few overpaid company executives.



A full copy of Ver.di's press release in German can be found at;

http://www.uniglobalunion.org/unipostal.nsf/0/110308_DE_52