Carsten Linnemann, the CDU general secretary, rejected the idea of placing the abolition of minijobs at the heart of the labour debate.
When speaking to the TV channel “Welt” on Wednesday, he explained that many people take a minijob because their regular employment does not leave them with enough net pay.
“We’re not talking about gross wages being too low in Germany, it’s the net wages that are insufficient. If we now take minijobs away from those who need them to manage, say, extra vacation or simply to get by with their main job – that’s not the solution” he said.
Linnemann said the focus should instead be on improving the net income from primary employment: lowering social security contributions and offering tax relief. Once those improvements are in place, a broader conversation about minijobs can take place.
“But we can’t simply tell people who rely on minijobs to survive that they have to do without them. Let me be blunt: we’re working on that too”.