Germany‘s coalition government agreed Wednesday to introduce a national minimum wage of 8.5 euros (11.72 dollars) an hour from January next year, despite strong opposition from the business sector. 
Legislation for the minimum is expected to be passed by parliament by July.
“It will represent more social justice in our country,” said Labour Minister Andrea Nahles unveiling the draft legislation in Berlin.
“It will help the about four million people who will finally be paid a just reward for their work,” Nahles said.
Together with pension reforms, the minimum wage lies at the heart of the agenda for the coalition between Chancellor Angela Merkel‘s conservative Christian Democrat-led bloc and the left-leaning Social Democrats (SPD).
Merkel had previously argued against a national minimum wage, saying it should be adopted by industry on a sector-by-sector basis.
But the SPD made the minimum wage a condition for joining the chancellor in a new alliance for her third term in office after an election in September.
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