German Cabinet approves national minimum wage --- BERLIN — Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Cabinet approved a national minimum wage for Germany on Wednesday, guaranteeing workers at least 8.50 euros per hour ($11.75) starting next year. -- German wages had for decades been left to trade unions and business groups to establish for regions or employment sectors. -- Merkel’s conservative bloc had been in favor of preserving this tradition, but agreed to go ahead with a national minimum wage as a concession to the left-leaning Social Democrats in order to seal a deal on forming a government together. -- “Labor has gotten its dignity back with a fair payment of 8.50 euros, whether in the east or west and with no industry exceptions,” said the Social Democrat’s labor expert Katja Mast. -- In the proposal adopted by the Cabinet, which is expected to get Parliamentary approval easily, the Social Democrats agreed to exempt the regulations from applying to long-term unemployed people for their first six months on the job. It also does not cover minors, interns or trainees. - More, Associated Press, at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/german-cabinet-approves-national-minimum-wage/2014/04/02/4756b456-ba49-11e3-80de-2ff8801f27af_story.html