Germany to introduce minimum wage for apprentices

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, center, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, left, and German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz talk as they arrive for the weekly cabinet meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 15, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Sohn)

BERLIN – Germany is introducing a minimum wage for apprentices, a move likely to raise the income of tens of thousands of young people.

Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet on Wednesday approved draft legislation that will see minimum pay for apprentices of 515 euros ($578) per month introduced next year. It will rise annually.

News agency dpa reported that, according to the Federal Labor Agency, nearly 65,000 apprentices earned less than 400 euros at the end of 2017 and another 50,000 got less than 500 euros — more than 7 percent of all apprentices in total.

The measure is separate from a national minimum wage for employees that was introduced in 2015 and whose level is reviewed regularly. It currently stands at 9.19 euros ($10.32) per hour.