Overview
- Over the weekend Bavaria’s CSU leader Markus Söder declared “Die Minijobs bleiben,” rejecting a recommendation to remove the jobs’ special tax and social‑insurance status.
- A government pension commission had proposed folding minijobs — part‑time roles that pay up to about €603 a month — into statutory pension insurance to boost future pension entitlements.
- A broad alliance of business groups warned in a letter to ministers that abolishing or making minijobs more costly would harm labour supply in sectors such as gastronomy, retail and agriculture.
- The Sozialverband Deutschland criticized Söder and argued that making minijobs fully pension‑insurance liable is a key step to prevent old‑age poverty, especially for women with interrupted careers.
- The governing coalition plans to draft legislation after the summer with a goal of passing major pension measures by year‑end, leaving party leaders to negotiate compromises on minijobs and other reforms.