BZ editor Hildburg Bruns comments on the bonus payments at state-owned companies Photo: picture alliance/dpa/BZ assembly
From Hildburg Bruns
It’s irritating: Because of the pandemic, employees are being sent on short-time work and the Senate is saving companies from ruin at taxpayer expense. Nevertheless, one or the other boss collects his bonus as usual.
It is not surprising that calls are now being made to abolish performance bonuses for state board members and managing directors. But of course that doesn’t work retrospectively, because they are negotiated components of the total remuneration.
And the same applies to bosses: hard work should and must be worthwhile. That’s what target agreements are for.
But for the future, more humility is also appropriate on the executive floors of national companies. It is by no means unreasonable to cast a sideways glance at high-ranking politicians: no senator or governor achieves such top salaries.
Good politicians don’t grow on trees any more than good managers do.