Chancellor Scholz plans to relieve employees through one-off payments from employers. In return, trade unions should waive part of the wage increases in collective bargaining rounds. The Chancellor’s idea is met with skepticism in the Union and the government partner.
The CDU has criticized Chancellor Olaf Scholz for his plan for a tax-free one-off payment from companies to their employees. The deputy chairman of the Union faction in the Bundestag, Hermann Gröhe, told the “Augsburger Allgemeine” that people with small and medium-sized incomes should be relieved. However, the traffic light coalition lacks a concept.
“The federal government only ever proposes individual measures,” said Gröhe. “There is no comprehensive solution: so that the state does not earn money from the price increases, taxes must be reduced, especially on small and medium-sized incomes.” With a view to the high spending in times of crisis, the CDU politician also called for more budgetary discipline. What is needed is “a budgetary policy that gets by with less debt and quickly returns to the debt brake”.
The FDP also reacted cautiously to the Chancellor’s proposal: “Breaking the wage-price spiral is a prerequisite for lowering the inflation rate in the next few years,” said parliamentary group leader Christoph Meyer of “Welt”. “Whether Chancellor Scholz’s initiative can make a contribution to this can only be assessed when the concept is available,” said Meyer.
The “Bild am Sonntag” had reported that Scholz wanted to campaign for a tax-free one-off payment from companies to their employees in the fight against the consequences of high inflation. On July 4, the federal government wants to consult with trade unions and employers on what measures can be taken to combat high inflation. Scholz had suggested the tax-free one-off payment by employers, in return the unions should forego part of the wage increases in collective bargaining rounds. The advantage of the one-time payment should be that it would not result in a wage-price spiral in which rising wages automatically lead to higher prices.
In addition, it would quickly reach the citizens and, above all, support people with low and middle wages. However, since only 43 percent of employees in Germany are paid according to the collective agreement, separate solutions are needed for employees who are not bound by a collective agreement and pensioners with a small pension. It is being worked on, reports the “Bild am Sonntag”. As a result, government one-off payments are under discussion for these population groups.
