Amid planned cuts to labour-market and social policy, trade unions are mobilising for nationwide protests. Under the slogan "Hart verdient! Deine Arbeit. Deine Gesundheit. Deine Rente." meaning “Hard Earned! Your Work. Your Health. Your Pension.”, the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) and its member unions have called for nationwide actions on September 26 “for a strong welfare state and against cuts”, the IG Metall district covering Lower Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt said on Monday. Central events will be held in Hanover and Magdeburg.
The unions believe the debate over pensions and phased retirement should “not revolve solely around the question of what the state can afford.” It must also address how financing can be placed on a broader and sustainable footing, “and what employees may expect from this society after a long working life.”
If the federal government follows the recommendations of the pension commission, access to phased retirement could become significantly more difficult for many employees, workers’ representatives fear. At the same time, they argue that the instrument is becoming even more important given the current situation in industry.
If production volumes decline permanently, the question arises of how capacity adjustments can be made “without immediately turning them into mass layoffs.” Phased retirement can provide a socially responsible way of doing so.
According to IG Metall, the debate over financing the welfare state must also “be conducted from the revenue side and not exclusively from the perspective of burdens.” In addition to employees, self-employed people, politicians and civil servants should therefore contribute to financing the statutory pension insurance system.
At the same time, IG Metall said that a significant part of the solution lies in strengthening employment itself. More jobs covered by social insurance contributions, higher wages and greater collective bargaining coverage would mean higher contribution revenues. “A policy that strengthens good and productive jobs is therefore also pursuing social policy,” IG Metall said.
The demographic trend also requires a differentiated response, according to the union. Sustainable financing of social security cannot consist of “continually extending individual working lives.” For IG Metall, it is therefore crucial to improve the conditions that allow people to reach retirement in good health.
“It is convenient to simply tell people from the Chancellery that they have to work longer,” said Thorsten Gröger, head of the IG Metall district. The more difficult question, he said, is under what conditions they can do so. “Anyone who has worked shifts for decades or performed physically demanding work does not need political advice to keep going, but a sensible path into retirement.”
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