Germany's top-up benefit system encourages low wages, says lawmaker
Germany's benefits system is encouraging low wages, a hard-left lawmaker has said, as official figures revealed that more than 800,000 German workers are reliant on top-up payments from the state.
A government response to a parliamentary question by Cem Ince, from The Left party, seen by dpa, showed that 826,000 workers receive top-up payments because their income is insufficient.
The payments cost the German state around €7 billion ($8 billion) per year.
Ince said "it cannot be that hundreds of thousands have to rely on state aid despite working."
"In this way, we are supporting low wages and maintaining the exploitation of labourers, instead of investing in care and nursery places, which would offer many people a way out of the trap of part-time employment," he added.
After the introduction of the legal minimum wage in 2015 - at €8.50 per hour - the number of workers relying on top-up benefits sank from 1.2 million to 796,000 in 2023.
However, the number has risen again for the first time since 2015.
The new German government under Chancellor Friedrich Merz has agreed to target a €15 minimum wage by 2026.
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