(de-news.net) – A motion aimed at exempting seasonal agricultural workers from the statutory minimum wage is being advanced by the CDU and is scheduled for debate at the party’s federal convention in February. The proposal is framed around the argument that seasonal employment in agriculture does not constitute regular full-time work, as it is limited to clearly defined peak periods during planting and harvest. In addition, it emphasizes that a large share of these workers are recruited from abroad, and that remuneration below the German minimum wage would nonetheless exceed typical wage levels in their countries of origin. On this basis, the exemption is portrayed as both socially defensible and economically rational, reflecting the specific conditions of seasonal agricultural labor.

According to party documents cited by several media outlets, the CDU leadership has formally recommended adoption of the motion. The supporting rationale suggests that greater wage flexibility would allow agricultural enterprises to employ a larger number of seasonal workers, thereby spreading available income across more individuals. From this perspective, the proposal is presented as a means of stabilizing labor supply during critical production phases without undermining established wage standards for the domestic workforce or altering the broader framework of labor protections.

Federal Agriculture Minister Alois Rainer of the CSU has expressed openness to the German Farmers’ Association’s long-standing demand to limit the minimum wage for seasonal workers to 80 percent of the statutory level. However, despite this renewed political backing, a legal review completed in July found that introducing such an exemption would be difficult to reconcile with existing law. This assessment has cast significant doubt on the practical feasibility of implementing a differentiated minimum wage regime for seasonal agricultural labor under the current legal framework.