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Teamster Jeff

(1,598 posts)
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 03:12 PM Mar 2013

German public service workers win 5.6 pct pay hike - negotiators

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Germany's regional public service workers will receive an above-inflation wage hike of 5.6 percent over two years, negotiators said on Saturday following marathon talks between employers and the Verdi trade union.

Verdi had sought a pay increase of 6.5 percent for the 765,000 workers.

Germany, which holds a federal election in September, is under pressure from other euro zone countries to grant higher wage increases to stimulate demand from Europe's largest economy for imports from the bloc's troubled debtor countries.

Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/03/09/germany-workers-pay-idUSB4N0AU00Y20130309



Grant higher wages to increase demand....What if??
12 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
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Leslie Valley

(310 posts)
1. Why don't the other euro zone members increase wages
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 03:32 PM
Mar 2013

In their own dammed countries to increase domestic demand? Seems they would have more control over their own.

 

Mutatis Mutandis

(90 posts)
4. explain how Spain is going to increase wages, especially in the 16-26 y.o. sector (60% UE rate)
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 04:02 PM
Mar 2013

Welcome to the bankster-controlled capitalist death spiral.

1 Neo-liberal privatisation of public infrastructure.
2 Wage 'reforms' coupled with massive inflows of low or no-skilled immigrants.
3 Huge increases in public, sovereign debt, based on predatory, illegally represented private banking models.
4 Huge increases in private debt, aided and abetted by vast speculative asset inflation especially in real estate.
5 Ham-string less productive economies to a unified currency.
6 Bubbles burst, then bailout the banksters, toss the debt on the people, whilst slapping brutal austerity on them as well.
7 Wash, rinse, repeat, till neo-feudalism and debt-slavery are complete.

As in the EU, so in the USA.

dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
7. Ref to the banks in Spain is a poor example
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 04:13 PM
Mar 2013

The demise of the main seven which were nationalised and now need re-capitalising, was almost wholly due to internal delinquent debt from Spains construction industry within the various regions. The actual root cause of Spains woes was the antics of US financial institutions 2007.

 

Mutatis Mutandis

(90 posts)
8. I understand the vast bulk of the debt in Spain is from the private banks, but that still doesn't
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 04:18 PM
Mar 2013

negate my question. I picked Spain due to it staggering UE rate.

dipsydoodle

(42,239 posts)
10. The unemployment rate
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 04:39 PM
Mar 2013

is a reflection of the collapse of the construction industry to which many had moved to or would have gone to when old enough to do so from what would otherwise have been employment within Spain's tourist industry. That transition had occurred over a period of c. 30 years.

 

Mutatis Mutandis

(90 posts)
9. The pain in Spain remains (podcast that raises some very troubling issues)
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 04:28 PM
Mar 2013
http://www.goldmoney.com/podcast/the-pain-in-spain-remains.html

Episode 103: GoldMoney’s Alasdair Macleod talks to Félix Moreno de la Cova – who is a private trader, student of economics, contributing author for GoldMoney and Madrid resident. They discuss Spain failing to reach its deficit target and if the country still has any hope of escaping its debt trap.

Though Spain is in a difficult economic situation, Félix says that the deficit target was actually reachable if they hadn’t bailed out the banks. He explains how a different route – the internal capitalisation or “bail in” – wouldn’t have hurt taxpayers. By not meeting the deficit target, Spain failed to keep the markets patient and is now again facing an uphill battle. Due to the size of its economy a bailout of Spain could be the breaking point for the eurozone.

Though Spain is already facing tough times, with skyrocketing youth unemployment, Félix expects the situation to significantly worsen. However, he says that there is still time for the government to make the hard decisions and balance the budget. Referring to precious metals, Félix states that the fundamentals for gold could not be stronger and he also sees strong technical support on the charts. He also makes the point that given the on-going currency wars, gold is actually still making highs in different currencies.

You can also follow Felix on twitter @flix1.

 

Mutatis Mutandis

(90 posts)
3. One quarter of German workers are in low-wage jobs
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 03:48 PM
Mar 2013
http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2012/03/germ-m22.html

The number of people in Germany in low-wage jobs increased by more than 2.3 million between 1995 and 2010. As a result, the income of more than 23 percent of all employees now falls under the official low-pay threshold. The trend towards low-wage work in Germany is established in a report published last week by the Institute for Work and Qualification at the University of Duisburg-Essen. The report includes students and pensioners for the first time, which increase the total number of low-income earners by almost 500,000, to a total of 7.9 million.

The official threshold for low pay in Germany is any wage less than €9.15 per hour (US$12.07), only about two thirds of the average wage. Most wages in the low-pay sector are, however, far lower than this figure. In 2010, low-wage workers earned an average of €6.68 (US$8.82) in the west and €6.52 (US$8.60) in eastern Germany.

Hourly rates in the low-wage sector have continued to decline in recent years: 4.1 million employees (12 percent) earn less than €7, 2.5 million (7.3 percent) less than €6, and nearly 1.4 million (4.0 percent) less than €5 per hour. This is despite the fact that about half of all low-wage workers are employed full-time. There are currently 800,000 full-time employees in Germany, who earn less than €6 per hour—i.e., less than €1,000 gross per month.

The structure of the low-wage sector has also changed considerably. Formerly a lack of educational or vocational qualifications was a crucial factor for determining who would end up in the low-wage sector. In recent years, the criteria have changed. The latest study shows that the vast majority of low-wage workers have completed vocational training or even have a university degree. The proportion of unskilled workers on low pay is around 18.4 percent, whereas academics now account for 10 percent of the sector.

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Gerhard Schroeder's wage/labour reforms of 2005 help to lay some of roots for the crisis that is currently raging in the EU. It dramatically reduced production in Portugal, Greece, Spain, etc, whose exports to Germany plummeted as now Germans working the dreaded 'mini-jobs' could be counted on to produce these goods at a greatly reduced rate, thus negating many of the imports from the periphery EU countries.
 

fasttense

(17,301 posts)
12. What no austerity for German workers?
Sat Mar 9, 2013, 05:57 PM
Mar 2013

Germany demanded Greece implement austerity but not so much for their own country. I would think if it was good for Greece it should be good for Germany too.

Austerity now!!!

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