Monday, January 4th, 2021
Impending negative index adjustment
Corona crisis reaches MPs diets
The corona pandemic is causing loss of earnings and livelihood worries across Germany. For the first time, the members of the Bundestag could also be affected by the economic turmoil. Since their increases depend on the statistical nominal wage index, a downward adjustment threatens in July.
The 709 members of the Bundestag will probably have to accept a reduction in their diets for the first time this year due to the Corona crisis. The "Bild" newspaper calculated that, according to the Federal Statistical Office, nominal wages had fallen by four and 1.3 percent in the second and third quarters of 2020, respectively. Since the negative trend is likely to continue in the fourth quarter, this is also reflected in the diets.
The diets are adjusted on July 1st in line with the nominal wages in the previous year. In 2020, wages only rose in the first quarter, by 2.1 percent. The members of the Bundestag waived an increase due to the corona economic slump last year. In the Diet Act passed in May, they also stipulated that the diet should be adjusted "on July 1, 2021 again in accordance with the nominal wage index then determined".
"Increase in the pandemic not appropriate"
SPD parliamentary director Carsten Schneider pointed out that the mechanism for adjusting the parliamentary diets to the general wage and salary development had been suspended last year on the initiative of the SPD parliamentary group. An increase would "not have been appropriate in the hard times of the pandemic," said Schneider. This waiver will not be compensated or made up for. "As of the current year, the mechanism will take effect again and as a result of the general wage and salary development during the crisis, it can also lead to cuts in diets," Schneider said.
The AfD member of the Bundestag Stephan Brandner said that the Corona crisis does not only require an adjustment of the diets of the Bundestag members. The salaries of ministers, prime ministers, state secretaries, the Federal President and the Federal Chancellor should also be reduced. Brandner pointed out that employees in retail, gastronomy, the hotel industry, many services but also in the manufacturing industry have had to deal with short-time allowances for a long time, and that dismissals and unemployment are threatened. Therefore an adjustment of all politicians' remuneration is "absolutely necessary".
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