As Minijob Levy Looms, German Retail Workers Push for €222 Monthly Wage Boost
Veröffentlicht: 15.06.2026 um 17:58 Uhr, Redaktion boerse-global.de
A sweeping increase in Germany’s minijob flat-rate contributions is adding urgency to stalled retail wage talks. The federal government plans to raise the levy from 31 percent to over 39 percent, and the trade association HDE warns it could drive up labour costs for hundreds of thousands of businesses. Roughly 800,000 of the country’s 6.8 million minijob holders work in the retail sector, making them especially vulnerable to the change. Health Minister Nina Warken has estimated the higher levy would generate around three billion euros in additional annual revenue.
Against that backdrop, the second round of collective bargaining for Bavaria’s retail and mail-order sector opens Tuesday in Munich. The ver.di union is demanding a flat monthly increase of €222 for wages and salaries, plus an extra €150 per month for apprentices. It also wants a minimum hourly wage of €14.90. The proposed contract would run for twelve months. The first meeting on May 8 ended without a result, and the employers’ side did not table any offer. Since then, workers have staged initial walkouts. The union argues that current pay no longer covers the sharply increased cost of living.
Parallel to the Munich talks, ver.di has called a demonstration in Stuttgart on Tuesday. There, retail employees in Baden-Württemberg are protesting what they see as inadequate offers. In that state the union is pushing for a €300 monthly increase in retail and a 7 percent raise—at least €250—in wholesale. The next round for Baden-Württemberg is scheduled for July 8, while wholesale negotiations will resume as early as June 26.
Several German states have already approved pay rises for civil servants, and unions in the retail sector are treating those deals as benchmarks. Most states are adopting a negotiated package that includes a 2.8 percent increase backdated to April 1, with further increments stretching to 2028. Rhineland-Palatinate has opted for 3.3 percent. Bavaria, however, has delayed its first pay step to October 1.
Whether Bavarian employers will present a concrete, negotiable offer on Tuesday remains uncertain. If they do not, ver.di has signalled it is prepared to escalate industrial action across the region.
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