The left-wing politicians in the German Bundestag have expressed concern over the persisting wage disparity between East and West Germany and have urged the Federal Chancellor, Olaf Scholz (SPD), to immediately address the issue. Dietmar Bartsch, leader of The Left group in the Bundestag, emphasized that wage harmonization must become a top priority to prevent simmering frustration in the East from escalating.
The assertion follows data from the Federal Employment Agency (BA), indicating that full-time employees in eastern Germany earned an average of 3157 euros at the end of 2022, while their western counterparts pocketed an average of 3752 euros. This wage gap, exacerbated by various factors, has kept eastern German workers in a disadvantaged position in many industries.
According to the BA, the reasons for the wage disparities may include company size and industry structure, as well as collective bargaining coverage. The data also shows that significant differences in wages exist between districts and independent cities, with the highest median salary of 5282 euros in Bavaria's Ingolstadt, while the Saxon district of Görlitz records the lowest rate of 2650 euros.
In light of these discrepancies, The Left is advocating for policies to redress the wage differences between the old and new federal states. Their push comes as The Federal Statistical Office reported that employees in eastern Germany collected an average of 13,000 euros less annually than their western colleagues in 2022.
To tackle this issue, experts recommend a combination of policy measures, labor market policies, and regulatory changes, such as minimum wage adjustments, family policy reforms, education expenditure targeting, and pay transparency. These strategies aim to enhance skill levels, incentivize training, and reduce wage disparities.
Meanwhile, the German government is actively addressing wage inequality through legislative initiatives and policy discussions, focusing on labor market integration, training and retention programs, and regulatory changes to promote wage equality and improve labor market opportunities.
