Thierse Criticizes Manager Salaries

Bundestag President Wolfgang Thierse spoke out against the size of the pay packets taken home by top managers in Germany. In an interview with the Neue Osnabrücker Zeitung, Thierse said that while there was no question managers should be properly compensated, "there are limits where I would say, this is morally unacceptable, verging on the obscene." He added that it was necessary to create more transparency when it comes to salaries in Germany, and that if it didn't happen voluntarily, the government would think about introducing new regulations. Management salaries were a big topic over the past year, with top earners in several sectors succumbing to the pressure to take pay cuts in solidarity with staff facing wage reductions and other drastic savings measures. Thierse pointed out that, 30 years ago, the ratio of manager salaries to the average income was 30:1, while now, the ratio is 240:1.