BERLIN (MNI) – German Economics Minister Rainer Bruederle suggested
in a newspaper interview published Thursday that strong wage hikes are
possible now that the crisis is over.
“When the economy booms, strong wage hikes are possible,” the
minister told the German daily Hamburger Abendblatt. “The crisis is
over. Now is the time to set new priorities.”
Salaries in Germany must remain attractive in order to exploit the
country’s full growth potential, he argued.
The minister called the 3.6% pay rise recently agreed for the steel
industry a “fair compromise” which might serve as a guide for other
branches.
Under the 14-month contract, the roughly 85,000 steel workers will
receive a 3.6% wage hike from this month. For September they got an
one-off payment of E150. Moreover, temporary staff will now earn the
same monthly wage as the regular employees.
Bruederle reaffirmed that German GDP growth this year will be
somewhere close to 3%. “It will be at least a 2 with a high number after
the digit,” he predicted. Chances are good that unemployment will fall
below three million already this year, he added.
The German economy has every chance to develop well also over the
longer term, the minister asserted: “We are the growth engine for the
whole of Europe,”
Despite the government’s current priority on budget consolidation,
the minister said he expected that the coalition would decide during the
current legislature to cut taxes further.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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