As of: March 28, 2024, 4:11 p.m
By: Bettina Menzel
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MPs sit in the German Bundestag in Berlin (symbolic image). © IMAGO/Christian Ditsch/epd
While employees have to negotiate for a wage increase, this is automatic for members of parliament. The nominal wage in Germany is rising - and with it the diets of parliamentarians.
Berlin - Wages in Germany rose by six percent in 2023 - by law, MPs' diets also automatically increased by this amount. Members of the Lower Saxony state parliament will get even more from July 1st, as
Bild
reported. The Taxpayers' Association takes a critical view of this.
Record diet increase: Members of the Bundestag will receive six percent more from July
Germany has one of the largest parliaments in the world: 736 members sit in the German Bundestag. Every year on July 1st, the parliamentarians' diet automatically adjusts to the nominal wage index. This year, the monthly compensation for MPs climbed from 10,591.70 euros to 11,227 euros, as calculated by the Taxpayers' Association (BdSt). The six percent increase in diets is a record: there has not been such an increase since 1995, according to the BdSt. “With the current lavish and fully automated diet adjustments in parliament, many employees, who always have to fight for every salary adjustment with good arguments, can only be amazed,” commented BdSt Lower Saxony boss Jan Vermöhlen.
The adjustment in the Bundestag is generally automatic, but MPs can also decide against it. This was last the case at the federal level in 2020 during the corona pandemic. The Taxpayers' Association particularly criticizes the automaticity of the increase. “With this fully automatic system, there will be no discussion, no debate or declaration by members of the Bundestag to the population,” commented BdSt President Reiner Holznagel. “Transparency and more justification in the form of a proper legislative process are all the more important if MPs want to decide on higher diets for themselves.”
Lower Saxony state parliament: Diets are increasing more than in the Bundestag
In the Lower Saxony state parliament, members of parliament will receive 6.2 percent more from July 1st because wage increases in the state are higher than the national average. From the current basic salary of 7,635.19, the salary will soon climb to 8,108.57 euros,
Bild
reported . When asked by
Merkur.de,
a spokesman for the Lower Saxony state parliament basically confirmed these figures, but emphasized that a corresponding proposal had not yet been submitted to the plenary session. The question of the appropriateness of diets is always a sensitive issue given the tight public budget, the Lower Saxony state parliament admits in a statement.
Since parliamentarians themselves decide on the amount of compensation, the public is often accused of self-service. That's why "the Lower Saxony state parliament is letting a neutral diet commission[...] decide whether the MP's compensation is appropriate," the statement continued. Since there is no automatism in Lower Saxony, the taxpayers' association's criticism on this point is misguided from the perspective of the state parliament administration, the state parliament spokesman commented to
Merkur.de
.
Taxpayers’ Association considers “Lower Saxony’s solution to be superior to pure index automation”
In fact, in Lower Saxony, unlike at the federal level, according to the Lower Saxony Taxpayers' Association, there is formally no automatic adjustment. “The recommended adjustment will only become effective if it is confirmed by the state parliament by resolution,” said BdSt Lower Saxony boss Jan Vermöhlen, who assesses the use of the diet commission as fundamentally positive. “So the topic is at least regularly on the agenda and therefore in the public eye. In this respect, the Lower Saxony solution is somewhat superior to pure index automation,” said Vermöhlen when asked by
Merkur.de
from
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
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Lower Saxony's state parliament has already deviated from the index several times: the parliamentarians gave themselves two zero rounds in 2020 and 2021, confirmed the Lower Saxony Taxpayers' Association. They also deviated in 2022, but in this case they approved an increase of 4.3 percent. “The nominal wage index would have only provided for an increase of 2.4 percent. The reason for the deviation was the zero rounds in 2020/21, which were subsequently compensated for with the deviation,” said the BdST Lower Saxony boss.
Lower Saxony Taxpayers Association: “Nominal wage index should not be the sole deciding factor”
In principle, diets for MPs also serve to protect against corruption. “Behind this is the public’s legitimate claim that representatives of the people should be independent,” says the Lower Saxony state parliament. In addition, without diets, “only people with wealth or high incomes could take up a mandate. In this case, the majority of the population would be excluded from parliament,” the statement continued.
The nominal wage index can be consulted, but should not be the sole deciding factor, comments BdSt Lower Saxony boss Jan Vermöhlen. Rather, the “cash situation of public finances, the economic situation and outlook as well as the mood in society” should also be taken into account. The diet adjustment should be “completely transparent and done in the light of the public – in a proper legislative process,” demands Vermöhlen.