Do we still want entrepreneurs here?

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16. September 2021

Democratic parties have been given clear mandate to form new federal government – fringes have been rightly weakened

27. September 2021

17. September 2021

Do we still want entrepreneurs here?

Employer President Rainer Dulger talks about the imminent return to normality, a lack of appreciation for small and medium-sized businesses, and his hopes for a new head of government named Superman:

Berlin, 17 September 2021.

WirtschaftsWoche: Mr. Dulger, how high is the vaccination rate in your company?
Rainer Dulger: I wish I knew. Because then I could protect my employees even better.

So should there be a nationwide employee disclosure requirement?

It would be a great help if the federal government would allow an exemption, at least temporarily. Given the pandemic situation and the approaching cold season, when colds are rampant, employers should be allowed to ask about vaccination status. After all, many employees would like that assurance themselves.

As an employer, you could also offer a vaccination bonus: Everyone who shows their vaccination certificate or has themselves vaccinated by the company doctor receives 250 euros.
I think it would be better if this were regulated uniformly and if the federal government were to set new incentives here to accelerate the pace of vaccination. This can also be arranged regionally differently: In Munich, for example, with tickets for FC Bayern, half the city would probably get pricked. And yes: I would also welcome a cash bonus - anything that helps is the right thing to do in order to return to normality. But once again, that's the job of the legislature.

Why is that? After all, a high vaccination rate benefits not least the economy.
We employers have delivered: Millions of employees have been vaccinated by company doctors in recent weeks. In total, more than five million vaccination doses have been given to company doctors. This has helped to spread the vaccination campaign and reach even more people. It has also given us a further boost and shown what the social partners can achieve when we work together. However, it is clear that the state must not unilaterally shift responsibility onto companies.

Do you oppose compulsory vaccination?
There are areas where I am in favour of compulsory vaccination: in healthcare, in childcare, in nursing. It makes perfect sense there. For individual citizens, the federal government has decided that there is no obligation, so the question does not arise.

Should the unvaccinated be made more uncomfortable?
I am not a fan of the ban culture. It works the other way around: those who are vaccinated and fully protected must immediately be given back a normal life and their civil rights: being able to go to restaurants, the theatre and the cinema. Everyone else must in future test themselves at their own expense - or can then not take part.

Despite the fourth wave, has the time already come to return to normality?
I very much hope so. And I also expect it. We have enough vaccine, so it is now up to us to convince all those who have not yet been vaccinated.

Normality also means that Corona aid will finally end at the end of 2021?
Corona aid should end at the turn of the year. We will still need short-time work in some industries. We are experiencing production losses in some companies simply because of the shortage of semiconductors. But the goal must be to return to the normal situation. The Corona-related relief on short-time working must remain special arrangements limited to the pandemic.

Do you actually sometimes wish Gerhard Schröder were back?
We have certainly reaped the rewards of his labour market policy over the past ten years. We also have his reforms to thank for the prosperity that made us so crisis-proof in the first place. So let's just say: I would like to see such an assertive and reform-minded chancellor again, yes - whether his name is Schröder or Superman.

Does this country need a Superman?
We would need someone with the unconditional will to move forward. We need a reform chancellor! We need to think much more about our economy when we make decisions, about the many entrepreneurs in this country who create a large part of our prosperity in this country. When I ask young people today who wants to be their own boss one day, they look at me with wide eyes. Some of them don't even know what I'm talking about. That is also the question I ask candidates for chancellorship: Do you want to have successful entrepreneurs in this country? Do you want to secure prosperity and employment?

Let us guess: you don't feel that way.
There is a lack of will to reform, whether it's digitalisation, decarbonisation, education or the social systems. There is a lack of a protective hand over the German middle class. Tax increases, tax on the rich, wealth tax - with these we are erasing our country's formula for success.

This country is nevertheless approaching record employment levels again.
That's exactly what I always hear ...

... that's why we emphasize it.
When I tell politicians that I expect more will to reform from you, I get the answer: Mr. Dulger, what do you want? It's working! I'm just afraid it won't be like this for much longer.

What exactly does the will to reform mean to you?
A cap on social security contributions at 40 percent, and not just as a declaration of intent, but by law, preferably with constitutional status. A brake on social security contributions! We need a moratorium on burdens for the economy. And taxation of assets in companies would be a disaster: After all, assets are tied up in buildings, machines, patents and know-how. Entrepreneurs don't have this money lying around on the kitchen table. Do we really want heirs to have no option but to sell their parents' business in order to pay the tax debt? No one can seriously want that!

Could a situation arise in which you, as a family entrepreneur, would leave the country?
No, I like living and working in this country and I also like paying my taxes here. Also, as a business owner, I would be subject to exit taxes, for example, and would lose more than half of my assets. But indeed: Sometimes I have the feeling that the appreciation for responsible employers in politics is sometimes frighteningly low.

Economics Minister Peter Altmaier sees himself as an advocate for small and medium-sized businesses. Have his efforts over the past four years been in vain?
Peter Altmaier has always been very eager, committed and involved. The fact that he was not able to achieve enough good things was less due to him than to SPD protagonists within this federal government. I therefore expect a future chancellor not only to listen to his economics minister - but also to implement what he hears.

Can you promise to invest more in Germany if, for example, the remaining solidarity tax is dropped?
Counter question: Why do entrepreneurs invest comparatively little in their own country today?

You are the company owner, tell us.
Because growth is taking place abroad and that's why we have the greater need for investment there - and have done so for decades. In my case, the home site in Heidelberg has long since ceased to be the largest. Our plant in the Czech Republic has already overtaken us, China will do so soon, and so will the USA. But that doesn't mean turning away from Germany! Investing abroad is often a sheer necessity in order to generate returns that then keep the parent site successful.

You demand speed, we are now making an intermediate spurt. Would you please say spontaneously which is worse: 12 euros minimum wage or the wealth tax?
(Silent.)

Tempo - remember?
Which would you rather have, plague or cholera?

What would be worse: if the solidarity tax were to remain or if permanent jobs were banned?
I would not like either at all.

Supply chain law or home office obligation?
Neither - nor! Instead: Awakening! Want to shape things, make people want to be entrepreneurs! And in a country that will still have functioning social security systems in the future and will not sin against the future generation with more and more new social benefits.

Social security is a good keyword.Thepension at 68 will come because ...
... we have already decided on the pension at 67. It's not about any numbers that need to be fixed. We simply have to start talking about the issue honestly and objectively. ducking it is not going to make the problem go away. I'm in favour of linking our retirement age to life expectancy: living longer then also means working longer.

But how does working longer lose its dread?
Is that so? After all, a job is an incredibly important social network for many older people. We should talk about that more often. Many of them would like to work longer, especially since their experience is still desperately needed.

Example, please.
Of course, at 65 they can no longer work in the fettling shop or cover roofs. But someone who has sat on roofs for 40 years I can use excellently in purchasing or to inspect trades in construction. In any case, I'm 58 now - and if I had a boss who offered me a golden handshake: I'd still want to work for a long time.

Working longer will certainly not be enough on its own to finance the retirement of the baby boomers ...
... which is why the very first thing the federal government should do is start being honest: We demand an annual social security report that explains all financial obligations in the future: in pension, long-term care, health and unemployment insurance.

Does demographic security also include attracting 400,000 immigrants per year, as the head of the Federal Employment Agency (BA) recently demanded?
The truth is that we are heading for a glaring shortage of skilled workers. Everyone can already feel it in everyday life. You won't get appointments for a tradesman for several weeks or months, if you're lucky. We have to use all the potential available in the country. In addition, we need controlled qualified immigration. BA boss Detlef Scheele was right to point this out.

Then you were happy about the immigration law of the grand coalition?
This law was a good start.

Why only a start?
Since I am a results-oriented person, the following question: Do you think that an ambitious goal such as 400,000 immigrants will be achieved with the existing set of rules? I'm skeptical about that. Unfortunately, we do not have a queue of skilled workers from abroad. That's why we need an active approach abroad and finally faster and simpler procedures at the authorities involved instead of procedures at a snail's pace.

Since Superman can't stop the snail's pace: Who will you actually vote for on September 26? Your successor as president of Gesamtmetall, Stefan Wolf, is campaigning for Armin Laschet.
It's good that each and every citizen in Germany can decide for themselves. I can only state what I expect from the winner. I think I have done that clearly. Once again: we need a reform chancellor!

With FDP leader Christian Lindner as a coalition partner?
In any case, Mr Lindner has done a good job in this election campaign. And he has brought the FDP forward again after it left the Bundestag. I certainly missed the liberal voice in parliament back then.

To the detailed interview with Wirtschaftswoche >>

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Do we still want entrepreneurs here?

Securing skilled workers

Social partnership

Future of social security

Covid 19 information for companies

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The collective bargaining unit works

Democratic parties have been given clear mandate to form new federal government – fringes have been rightly weakened

Do we still want entrepreneurs here?

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