"The goal must be a minimum wage of 14 or 15 euros in order to keep pace with inflation," he told the news portal T-online on Saturday, explaining that work is worthwhile above all when it is paid fairly.
"But that is not the case for millions of people in Germany," he said.
"Those who work for the minimum wage have less and less left at the end of the month in times of inflation," the state premier added.
At the same time, Weil called for tougher sanctions for people receiving BĂĽrgergeld (citizens' allowance), the long-term unemployment benefit.
"We are currently experiencing a change in direction for the citizen's allowance and that is correct," he told T-online. "Anyone who refuses reasonable work must feel that too." The debate about people receiving citizen's allowance who could work but do not want to has damaged the SPD in recent months.
READ ALSO: 'Far too low': How millions of workers in Germany are earning less than €14 per hour
In an interview in mid-May, Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) already spoke out in favour of gradually increasing the minimum wage to 15 euros.
In doing so, he also triggered a debate about the independent work of the Minimum Wage Commission. Demands for a higher minimum wage then also came from the ranks of the SPD, the Greens, the Left and trade unions.
The minimum wage was raised in October 2022 in a one-off step to 12 euros per hour.
The Minimum Wage Commission then decided on further increases annually, as usual. Since the beginning of 2024, the minimum wage level has been 12.41 euros, and a further increase of 41 cents is planned for the beginning of 2025.
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