《中英對照讀新聞》German employers get creative to skirt new minimum wage 德國雇主為了規避最低工資新規定大展創意

◎管淑平

From charging slaughterhouse workers for their knives to compensating staff with tanning salon vouchers, German employers are coming up with creative ways to avoid paying a new minimum wage, angering unions.

向屠宰場工人收取刀具費用、用人工日光浴沙龍使用券折抵報酬，德國雇主想出以各種創意方法規避支付員工最低工資，此舉激怒工會。

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Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government introduced Germany’s first nationwide wage floor of 8.50 euros per hour early this year. The law was the brainchild of the Social Democrats, who made it a condition of joining Merkel’s coalition in 2013.

總理梅克爾的政府今年初起，實施德國首次全國最低工資每小時8.50歐元。這項法律是社會民主黨提出，做為2013年加入梅克爾執政聯盟的條件。

The centre-left party argued that it was a necessary response to the sharp rise in low-wage jobs over the past decade.

這個中間左派政黨認為，有必要以法定最低工資因應過去10年低薪工作大幅增加。

But in the months since it went into effect it has become clear that not everyone is taking home more pay. The NGG food and catering union is fielding up to 400 calls a day from people who say their employers are finding ways to circumvent the law.

但這項制度生效後的幾個月間，顯然不是所有人都因此領到更高工資。德國食品餐飲業工會一天回應多達400通電話，人們來電說雇主設法規避這項法律。

"We’re seeing some employers display an awful lot of creativity to get round paying the minimum wage," Burkhard Siebert of the NGG said.

「我們注意到部分雇主為了規避付最低工資，展現極大創意」，食品餐飲業工會的伯克哈德．希伯特說。

He said some workers were no longer getting paid for overtime. Others are being charged for drinks and clothing they are required to wear on the job.（Reuters）

他說，有些勞工不再獲發加班費，其他人有被收取飲料費以及工作制服的費用。（路透）

新聞辭典：

skirt：動詞，迴避（困難、尷尬問題）。例句：The president skirted controversail issues in his State of the Union address.（總統在國情咨文中避談爭議議題。）

come up with：動詞片語，提出、找出（想法、計畫等），趕上。例句：Our government has not yet come up with effective strategies to fight the drought.（我們的政府還沒提出有效的策略對抗這波乾旱。）

get round/around＋物：動詞片語，避開問題或法規。get round＋人：遊說他人以達成目的。get round to＋人或物：設法處理某事。例句：We have found ways to get round the tax rules.（我們找出規避這些稅務規定的方式。）