To some, it might seem that the jobs held by those uniformed individuals keeping watch at a company entrance are to be envied. They don't seem to involve much stress and leave a good amount of time for magazine reading. But the envy would likely stop when the pay stub arrived.
Security firm jobs might often be low key, but they usually also involve very low pay. In eastern Germany, security personnel can receive hourly wages as low as 3.70 euros ($5.02).
That kind of pay is what Michael Sommer, the head of Germany's DGB trade union federation, referred to when he addressed trade unionists on May 1 and talked about millions of German workers in the restaurant and hotel industry among others eking out a living on "starvation wages." He demanded that Germany introduce a statutory minimum wage of 7.50 euros ($10) per hour.
His call has been taken up by others on the left side of the political
spectrum, and reignited a debate over whether Germany, now enjoying healthy economic growth, should follow the lead of 18 of the EU's 27 member states and introduce a comprehensive minimum wage.
