Business Lobby and Bavarian Premier Unite Against Minijob Insurance Plan
Published on 07/12/2026 at 08:57 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A coalition of German business associations has sent an urgent letter to Labour Minister Bärbel Bas and Health Minister Nina Warken, demanding that the existing conditions for Minijobs — marginal-employment contracts paying up to 603 euros a month — remain untouched. The warning comes as the black-red coalition’s own pension commission pushes to bring these jobs fully into the statutory pension insurance system, a move critics say would effectively abolish the special status of Mini- and Midi-jobs.
The letter, signed by several sectoral groups, argues that the flexible employment model is a lifeline for hospitality, retail, and agriculture. Without it, they claim, large parts of the economy would face severe disruption.
Bavarian premier and CSU chairman Markus Söder immediately backed the business lobby’s position. In an interview with the Augsburger Allgemeine, he said ending Minijobs would cause massive harm to vital industries, contradicting the pension commission's recommendation to subject them to full social insurance contributions. "That would be the wrong path," Söder stated.
The Sozialverband Deutschland (SoVD) reacted sharply, accusing Söder of taking a backward-looking stance. The association argues that full pension insurance coverage for low-income earners is essential to prevent old-age poverty. Without it, millions of Minijobbers would continue to build no or inadequate pension entitlements.
Rather than tackling Minijobs, Söder advocates a different reform agenda. He wants to scrap the so-called "Rente mit 63" — early retirement without deductions for those with 45 years of contributions — and introduce a capital-funded pillar into the German pension system. These proposals, however, remain controversial even within his own political camp.
The federal government still aims to pass a comprehensive pension reform by the end of 2026. Whether the full insurance mandate for Minijobs will be part of that package is now uncertain, given the mounting resistance from influential business groups and a key political figure in Bavaria.
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