BERLIN (MNI) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble backs
higher wages for German workers in the current pay rounds, he said in an
interview published over the weekend.
“It is okay when wages are currently rising faster here than in all
other EU countries,” Schaeuble told German weekly Focus. Germany has
done its homework and can afford higher pay rises than other states, he
argued.
“These wage hikes are also contributing to reduce imbalances in
Europe,” the minister said.
Germany’s powerful IG Metall trade union is demanding a 6.5% pay
hike for around 3.6 million workers in the metal-working and engineering
industry. The Gesamtmetall employers association has so far offered a 3%
pay rise.
A Gesamtmetall spokesman strongly rejected Schaeuble’s call for
higher wages. “The wage partners do not need any advice from
politicians,” he told German daily Die Welt in an interview released
Sunday.
–Berlin bureau: +49-30-22 62 05 80; email: twidder@marketnews.com
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