A female apprentice filing a workpiece in the mechanics room in the training centre at the BMW plant in Leipzig. (picture alliance / Jan Woitas/dpa-Zentralbild/dpa/archive)
People on traineeships in Germany are to receive a minimum monthly payment of 515 euros (577 dollars) starting from next year.
The plan, signed off by the cabinet on Wednesday but not yet finally passed into law, is to affect tens of thousands of trainees who currently earn less than 515 euros.
Under the reform, the minimum payment threshold is also to be raised in the coming years. Those on apprenticeships from 2021 are to receive at least 550 euros, and it will go up to 585 euros in 2021, before reaching 620 euros in 2022.
According to the Federal Employment Agency, close to 65,000 trainees earned less than 400 euros at the end of 2017, while a further 50,000 earned under 500 euros.
Together, that makes up 7 per cent of all trainees in Germany.
Traineeships are normally full time in Germany, and are therefore paid significantly under the minimum wage rate of 9.19 euros an hour, or just less than 1,600 euros a month for a full time, regular position.
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