Yasmin Fahimi, chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), has positioned herself firmly against the federal government's plans for overhauling the social welfare system. When asked where employees might need to make concessions for the upcoming reforms, Fahimi told the Süddeutsche Zeitung in an interview published Thursday: "Why should they have to do that at all?" She said she does not see a reform package in which burdens are distributed fairly, such as between employers and employees.
The DGB chairwoman demanded that the system must first be made more efficient through structural reforms. She also called for an end to "self-service" practices in the healthcare system and for "fair financing" to be established.
Fahimi said the reform debate is moving in the wrong direction. "I find it outrageous that in light of geopolitical challenges, weak growth, and lack of modernization at our industrial sites, we constantly have to discuss arbitrary proposals to restrict the rights of employees or their social security," she said. This is "completely absurd."
It completely misses what is necessary. "I am genuinely getting increasingly angry about this," Fahimi said. "This will also be expressed on May 1st, and not just by me, but by hundreds of thousands whom we will mobilize."
Fahimi threatened determined resistance if the reforms come at the expense of employees. She hopes for an understanding. "But if necessary, we are prepared to organize protests in the streets," including against the healthcare reform. The DGB's red lines are clear: "Anyone who wants to cut the statutory pension will face our full resistance." The same applies to working hours.
Fahimi also expressed criticism regarding Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil's (SPD) proposal to expand fixed-term employment contracts for companies that invest in innovation. "It should be a matter of course that companies invest in innovations," she said. "Employees don't get a bonus on top of their wages just because they go to work."
Klingbeil had said in his reform speech at the end of March at the Bertelsmann Foundation that he could imagine allowing fixed-term employment contracts for a longer period at companies that invest in innovation, similar to what already exists for start-ups.
He hopes that this would encourage more companies to hire people despite uncertainty. "You invest because you expect a business model behind it," the DGB chairwoman said. "If that doesn't exist, it doesn't matter at all how job protection is structured," she added.
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