Summary / Resumé
Ottmar Schreiner: Politics does have an influence
Do signifi cant wage rises put the economic growth at risk by additional costs for companies or do they boost the economy by strengthening domestic demand? Do we need an expansion of the low-wages sector or are there already too many „pauper-wages“? What is the infl uence of politics on the development of wages? What are we to think of initiatives for the introduction of low wages or of supplementary wage systems? Is it realistic and sensible to stick to the goal of full employment? Ottmar Schreiner argues for a stronger involvement of politics in favour of a rise in employees‘s incomes. It is not acceptable that many full-time employees cannot live on their income. Appropriate measures for the improvement of the situation are the introduction of legal minimum wages, the creation of a framework, under which as many collective wages as possible are to be declared binding , the expanion of public spending and a massive initiative for the improvement of qualifi cation and learning