The
German parliament has approved the country's first minimum wage, in a vote in
the Bundestag on Thursday.
The
wage will be set at 8.50 euros (£6.80) per hour, which is higher than the
equivalent in the US and UK.
Angela
Merkel's Christian Democrats approved the new policy as part of a power-sharing
deal with the Social Democratic Party (SPD).
Germany
has previously relied on trade unions and business groups to fix minimum pay
instead.
At
the moment, the country is one of
seven in the 28-nation EU without a minimum
wage level.
The
minimum wage has been the subject of much controversy in Germany, with business
leaders warning that it would result in fewer jobs, or force companies to move
production facilities to other countries, where labour is cheaper.
Lobbyists
have also claimed that the policy would make Germany less competitive.
However
others have been angered by concessionary measures, including a two-year grace
period for some employers to phase in the policy.
Additionally,
the wage does not cover minors, interns, trainees or long-term unemployed
people for their first six months at work.
For
the rest of Germany's employers, the regulations will come into effect on 1
January 2015. The wage will be reviewed annually from 1 January 2018.
Regardless
of the outcome of Thursday's vote, the policy will still need to be passed by
Germany's upper house, the Bundesrat.
Other
European countries have been adjusting their minimum wage policies.
In
March, the UK government announced a 19p increase to the national minimum wage,
bringing it to £6.50 per hour.
In
May, Swiss voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposal to introduce what would
have been the highest minimum wage in the world, in a referendum.
Under
the plan, employers would have had to pay workers a minimum 22 Swiss francs
(about $25; £15; 18 euros) an hour.
BBC
Business
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