HANNOVER (dpa-AFX) – The left-wing member of the Bundestag Victor Perli has complained that there is too little control of the minimum wage. In the roughly two years of the corona pandemic, there were around 1,000 fewer controls than usual in Lower Saxony, and in affected sectors such as postal and newspaper delivery there were almost no controls at all, said the Lower Saxony MP. According to the answers to a small inquiry to the federal government on the subject of minimum wage fraud, there were 3,777 employer examinations nationwide last year – at 292,886 companies. In 2020 there were 3453 tests, in 2019 there were still 4566 and in 2018 even 4950.
A total of 10,876 violations were found last year, including 422 violations of the minimum wage law. “It’s a scandal when companies cheat their employees out of the minimum wage, which is far too low anyway,” criticized Perli. “I know from many conversations that the customs financial control for undeclared work is chronically overburdened and can often only search superficially for violations.” Perli emphasized that according to DGB estimates, 2.4 million employees nationwide would be deprived of the minimum wage. For Lower Saxony, one assumes an unreported number of 212,000 people affected.
“By raising the minimum wage to 12 euros, an increase in fraud attempts is to be expected. That’s why more staff and deterrent penalties are needed,” said Perli. “Minimum wage fraud is not a minor offence, but white-collar crime that not only harms employees, but also taxpayers, social security funds and companies that stick to the rules.” Almost a year ago, Perli launched an online portal for reporting minimum wage violations./tst/DP/eas