Schwerin (dpa/mv) - With new criteria for economic development, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania's state government wants to reward the creation of better-paid jobs and investments in structurally weak regions more strongly. If they do not meet certain requirements, investments by large companies will only be subsidized at five percent in the future. If you comply with the requirements, you can save up to 15 percent, according to a statement from the Ministry of Economic Affairs on Friday. The new funding principles therefore relate to the money from the joint task to improve the regional economic structure.
According to the information, there is a surcharge of 5 percentage points if the company is bound by a collective agreement. Anyone who pays wages that are at least twice the statutory minimum wage of 12 euros will also receive 5 percentage points more funding. At 50 percent above the minimum wage, the additional support is 2.5 percentage points. There is also a surcharge of 2.5 percentage points for investments in particularly structurally weak regions.
According to the ministry, the sum of all funding supplements can amount to a maximum of 10 percentage points. The highest possible rate is 15 percent for large companies with at least 250 employees. For companies with 50 to 249 employees there is a maximum of 25 percent, for small companies with 10 to 49 employees a maximum of 35 percent. Medium and small companies also get 10 percentage points less than the maximum rate if they do not meet any of the requirements.
With the new principles, the amount of funding is geared more closely than before to the question of how high-quality and sustainable the jobs are, emphasized Economics Minister Reinhard Meyer (SPD). The background is that Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is one of the federal states with the lowest wage levels in Germany.
Further surcharges are possible, for example, for companies that provide research services or for efforts in the area of environmental management and sustainability. The German trade union federation and the left-wing parliamentary group welcomed the new funding principles.
