“More complicated than the unions make it out to be”

WirtschaftsWoche: Ms. Welge, the collective bargaining round in the public sector is entering the critical phase. Is an agreement still possible – or do the citizens have to prepare for a spring strike?
Karin Welge: I’m confident we can pull ourselves together. Of course, this assumes that both sides can approach each other. It can be assumed that there will be a noticeable increase in wages for employees. So far, however, there has been no sign of any willingness on the part of the trade unions to seriously deal with the financial framework in the municipalities. The requirement of 10.5 percent, at least 500 euros, corresponds to more than 15 billion euros in additional wage costs – per year, not including the indirect effects. The awareness that this money has to come from somewhere seems to me to have been neglected in the debate.