Minimum wage

(dpa/lni) Higher wage and operating costs are leading to new tariffs in many places. While some municipalities have already adjusted tariffs, elsewhere further price increases are on the horizon.

After the stop of the 1,000-euro relief premium, the German Taxi and Rental Car Association warns of higher levies for businesses.

Following the unanimous decision to raise the minimum wage, the pressure on small and medium-sized enterprises in passenger transport is increasing. The taxi industry, in particular, feels increasingly threatened in its existence by competition and rising costs.

The Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) is going on the offensive. In an open letter to Federal Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil, Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas, and SPD parliamentary group leader Dr. Matthias Miersch, the association, together with ten other industry representatives, demands that political influence on the minimum wage commission must be refrained from.

It was not a formal round of negotiations, but an exchange with a handshake quality. When Thomas Kroker, President of the Taxi and Rental Car Association (TMV), and its Chief Executive Officer Patrick Meinhardt were received at the federal headquarters of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (DeHoGa), the entry was immediately personal. "For me, there is only the taxi," explained DeHoGa head Ingrid Hartges, "other offers are not an option for me at all."

It was not merely a celebration of existence, but also a warning to politics: At their 35th annual general meeting in Erfurt, the Thuringian transport and logistics industry made their voices heard clearly.

In the conference room of the Marriott Hotel in Darmstadt, it is quiet as Herwig Kollar takes the microphone. The president of the Federal Association of Taxi and Rental Cars (BVTM) looks into expectant faces. It is the afternoon of May 6th – the public part of the association meeting has begun. Kollar presents a program that outlines the central challenges facing the industry: federal politics, medical transport, platforms, Europe.

When lobby groups come together, it is nothing unusual. However, when representatives of such diverse sectors as taxi drivers, retailers, hairdressers, and farmers appear with almost identical arguments, it is worth taking a closer look.

The tone is friendly, the message clear: With a letter to Gitta Connemann, CDU member of the Bundestag and future Parliamentary State Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Economics, the Taxi and Rental Car Association Germany (TMV) speaks up early. The association congratulates on the new role – and combines the congratulations with clear expectations.

In a joint letter from the Action Alliance Economic Warning Day to the leaders of the Union and the SPD, tax relief for German companies is being demanded. According to TMV, it is about protecting competition and strengthening the economy.

(dpa/tk) Will there be a significant increase in the statutory minimum wage as early as next year, and what does a minimum wage of 15 euros mean? The consequences could be noticeable for consumers - whether at the hairdresser, in a restaurant, or even during a taxi ride.

The Taxi and Rental Car Association (TMV) is up in arms against the minimum wage increase to 15 euros proposed by the SPD. According to the TMV, the middle class must absolutely be relieved to avoid the risk of more and more taxi companies having to give up.