ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the outcome of the new German minimum wage regime as well as the new interplays between minimum wages and collective bargaining. It presents an outline of what has happened with German collective bargaining in the past 25 years and what were the drivers for the change of minds as regards the need for a statutory minimum wage in Germany. Since the mid-1990s, German collective bargaining entered into a period of continuous erosion. The erosion of collective bargaining was particularly pronounced in traditional low-wage sectors. The chapter provides an overview on the new German minimum wage regime with the introduction of a national statutory minimum wage and the emergence of new sectoral minimum wages. In contrast to the overall hotel and restaurant sector, the special segment of the fast food sector in Germany has relatively high collective bargaining coverage.
