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Employees and employers are in the same boat
BDA AGENDA 09/21 | Topic of the week
Work creates social recognition and participation, opens up opportunities for advancement, means personal fulfilment and further development. It strengthens cohesion and is an engine for integration and diversity.
Companies and employees have so far coped well with the current crisis - despite the particular challenges. The extent to which employers and employees are in the same boat is also shown by the fact that, despite the demanding framework conditions, job satisfaction and willingness to perform remain very high.
The clear majority of employees are satisfied with their company's crisis management. So far, the short-time work bridge has held, securing employment on an unprecedented scale and with billions of euros from unemployment insurance financed by employees and employers.
But where in politics will the right course be set for a post-Corona strategy on the labour market? We must do everything we can to get people who have lost their jobs back into work as quickly as possible. Many jobs will be created again and new ones will be added. People who have been working in mini-jobs will possibly return to work on a part-time basis. At the same time, we must not forget the people who already had a hard time on the labour market before the crisis. The necessary tools exist. What we must not do is make it more difficult for them to (re)enter the labour market. That is why the moratorium on burdens decided by the Federal Cabinet is indispensable. Especially now, we must not further regulate, for example, fixed-term contracts. It would be a mistake in labour market policy to draw the conclusion from the Corona crisis that unemployment benefits should be paid for longer. Even though this may sound good at first, it would tend to prolong unemployment. And that is exactly the opposite of what would make sense now. We must also not make the mistake of reverting the activating welfare state back to a welfare state that provides benefits. However, many ideas in the election programmes of the SPD, the Greens and the Left go in precisely this direction - e.g. when the transition to an unconditional basic income and significantly higher "Hartz IV" standard rates are called for.
The special regulations under social law, e.g. for short-time work and in basic security for job-seekers, must remain limited and be phased out again when the pandemic is over. Otherwise we will massively overstretch our welfare state. Politicians have raised expectations of the welfare state that cannot be financed in the long term. The pandemic in particular has shown us how important sound finances are in order to be able to act quickly in the event of a crisis.
Shaping the ecological and digital transformation remains a challenge even after Corona. In the next few years, we will see the "baby boomer" generation retire. Coping with this will only be possible together. The social partners have always managed to further develop working conditions and make them crisis-proof. They can succeed this time too. To do so, we must rely on ourselves and not be the first to seek support from the state. We should use the opportunities and changes that arose during the Corona pandemic and actively shape the future of work. The economy and the world of work are becoming increasingly heterogeneous. Blanket answers and one-size-fits-all regulations no longer work. Sector- and company-specific solutions that really work are best agreed by the social partners. Politics should strengthen them.
Work creates social recognition and participation, opens up opportunities for advancement, means personal fulfilment and further development. It strengthens cohesion and is an engine for integration and diversity.
Companies and employees have so far coped well with the current crisis - despite the particular challenges. The extent to which employers and employees are in the same boat is also shown by the fact that, despite the demanding framework conditions, job satisfaction and willingness to perform remain very high.
The clear majority of employees are satisfied with their company's crisis management. So far, the short-time work bridge has held, securing employment on an unprecedented scale and with billions of euros from unemployment insurance financed by employees and employers.
But where in politics will the right course be set for a post-Corona strategy on the labour market? We must do everything we can to get people who have lost their jobs back into work as quickly as possible. Many jobs will be created again and new ones will be added. People who have been working in mini-jobs will possibly return to work on a part-time basis. At the same time, we must not forget the people who already had a hard time on the labour market before the crisis. The necessary tools exist. What we must not do is make it more difficult for them to (re)enter the labour market. That is why the moratorium on burdens decided by the Federal Cabinet is indispensable. Especially now, we must not further regulate, for example, fixed-term contracts. It would be a mistake in labour market policy to draw the conclusion from the Corona crisis that unemployment benefits should be paid for longer. Even though this may sound good at first, it would tend to prolong unemployment. And that is exactly the opposite of what would make sense now. We must also not make the mistake of reverting the activating welfare state back to a welfare state that provides benefits. However, many ideas in the election programmes of the SPD, the Greens and the Left go in precisely this direction - e.g. when the transition to an unconditional basic income and significantly higher "Hartz IV" standard rates are called for.
The special regulations under social law, e.g. for short-time work and in basic security for job-seekers, must remain limited and be phased out again when the pandemic is over. Otherwise we will massively overstretch our welfare state. Politicians have raised expectations of the welfare state that cannot be financed in the long term. The pandemic in particular has shown us how important sound finances are in order to be able to act quickly in the event of a crisis.
Shaping the ecological and digital transformation remains a challenge even after Corona. In the next few years, we will see the "baby boomer" generation retire. Coping with this will only be possible together. The social partners have always managed to further develop working conditions and make them crisis-proof. They can succeed this time too. To do so, we must rely on ourselves and not be the first to seek support from the state. We should use the opportunities and changes that arose during the Corona pandemic and actively shape the future of work. The economy and the world of work are becoming increasingly heterogeneous. Blanket answers and one-size-fits-all regulations no longer work. Sector- and company-specific solutions that really work are best agreed by the social partners. Politics should strengthen them.
