According to CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann, federal and state civil servants should not be included in the planned €1,000 relief payment intended for employees. Speaking to the news broadcaster “Welt” Linnemann strongly opposed any demands to incorporate civil servants, stating that this must be prevented. He emphasized that it would be unacceptable to use taxpayer money originally meant for the self-employed to provide this premium to state employees. Doing so, he warned, would spark a “dispute of injustice” unlike any seen in recent years, and consequently, he believes no such payout should be made to civil servants in Germany.
Linnemann also suggested extending the bonus scheme, which was originally planned for 2026, to cover the following year. He expressed personal support for allowing the premium not just this year, but also in 2027. He explained that this would give companies the opportunity to use the funds over a period of eighteen months-for instance, to compensate for peak workloads with untaxed and exempt working hours.
At the same time, the CDU General Secretary expressed understanding regarding the widespread dissatisfaction within the business community concerning the bonus. He dismissed the notion that every employee would receive this payment, calling it “nonsense” and characterizing it instead as a tool that can be utilized. Furthermore, he corrected a misunderstanding that employers were responsible for compensating employees through this relief measure, clarifying that such an undertaking is the purview of the state.