(de-news.net) – Sven Schulze (CDU), Minister for Economic Affairs of Saxony-Anhalt and member of the CDU executive committee, has voiced apprehensions concerning the Fair Wages Act, introduced by Federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD), cautioning that the legislation could evolve into a disproportionately complex regulatory framework. He underscored the burdens posed by extensive documentation and compliance obligations and urged the federal government to adopt a judicious and deliberative approach to the matter.

The Fair Wages Act has elicited considerable opposition from the business sector. Critics contend that the imposition of mandatory collective bargaining adherence may impede, rather than enhance, competitive dynamics within public procurement. Steffen Kampeter, Chief Executive of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations, characterized the legislative initiative as an administratively onerous measure with potentially adverse economic repercussions, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises that may increasingly refrain from participating in public tenders, thus endangering the timely realization of infrastructure projects.

Proposed legislation stipulates that federal contracts exceeding a threshold of 50,000 euros shall be allocated exclusively to firms bound by collective agreements. A prior attempt to implement a comparable regulation during the preceding governing coalition at federal level was unsuccessful, chiefly due to objections raised by the Free Democratic Party (FDP).