25% German MPs take paid part-time jobs

One in four German parliamentarians are doing paid part-time jobs, with some earning more than 250,000 euros (about 350,000 U.S. dollars) annually, German media reported on Tuesday. The Otto Brenner Foundation, the scientific division of the German trade union IG Metall, has investigated whether members of the Bundestag, lower house of German parliament, have side jobs and, if they do, how much they earn for that, according to the Suddeutsche Zeitung newspaper. A report of the foundation shows one in four parliamentarians are doing part-time jobs with pay. Two-thirds of them come from the ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its sister party the Christian Social Union of Bavaria (CSU), with four top earners receiving an annual income of more than 250,000 euros, while 10 percent are members from the opposition Left Party and Green Party. Male parliamentarians are more active in doing side jobs than females and lawyers are particularly keen on such jobs, the report said. The 18th German Bundestag, which was elected in September 2013, is composed of 631 members. CDU/CSU forms the biggest parliamentary group in the Bundestag. According to German law, members of the Bundestag are allowed to take part-time jobs, but are obliged to inform the public about their part-time activities and annual income. Relevant information could be seen on the website of the Bundestag.