German lawmakers face backlash over €500 monthly pay rise proposal
Every day, this government tells the people of the country that money is tight," reads a statement by Heidi Reichinnek and Sören Pellmann, as reported by Der Spiegel. "It imposes one drastic austerity measure after another, urging everyone to tighten their belts and do their part. Yet apparently, this does not apply to the governing parties themselves, who—amid these severe crises—seriously intend to grant themselves a hefty monthly pay raise of around €500."
The co-leaders of the Left Party's parliamentary group called the move "brazen" and warned it would "rightfully fuel even more frustration among the public." The statement added that it was "incomprehensible to people that this coalition fails to deliver tangible relief for the majority, yet treats itself to a substantial salary increase."
"Once again this year, we will submit a motion to suspend the pay raise," Pellmann and Reichinnek declared. "Approving it would be a long-overdue show of decency." If their initiative fails, they said, "as we did with the last pay increase, we will donate the extra funds to social projects."
The Left Party fundamentally opposes the automatic adjustment of lawmakers' salaries. Since 2014, these payments have been tied to wage trends through an automatic mechanism.
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