income
The Left denounces the wage gap on “East Equal Pay Day”.
East Germans earn less than West Germans. photo
© Oliver Berg/dpa
On average, employees in East Germany earn significantly less than in the West. The left starts a calculation example and comes up with 76 days of free work.
On the symbolic “East Equal Pay Day”, the left addressed the… Wage gap between East and West Germany reminded and quick remedial action called for. This includes an increase in the minimum wage, emphasized the chairman of the Left Bundestag group, Sören Pellmann. From the beginning of the year until March 16, East Germans worked mathematically for free. Pellmann referred this to the average annual salary, which according to current data in 2023 was 7,750 euros or 17 percent lower in the east than in the west. Converted to annual earnings, this corresponds to 76 days.
The gap is unacceptable in the 35th year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, said Pellmann. “The wage gap between East and West simply isn’t closing.” A key reason is the lower tariff coverage in the east. More than half of the employees there earn less than 3,000 euros gross per month. Nationwide it is every third person. That’s why a “wages offensive” is needed, said the Leipzig member of the Bundestag. “The low wage level is an attack on dependent employees and therefore a danger to democracy.” Those affected in the East in particular have the feeling of being left behind.
“Equal Pay Day” is better known when comparing the incomes of men and women. Social associations estimate that women worked for free for 66 days, this year from January 1st to March 6th, because of the average income difference between the sexes. The calculation of the deadline sometimes differs based on working or calendar days. In any case, the deadlines are only to be understood symbolically.