Commenting on the unjustified criticism of the Minister of Labor and the pension debate, Employer President Dr. Rainer Dulger said:

The statements of the Federal Minister of Labor lack respect for the achievements of the companies

Berlin, December 20, 2022. "A federal labor minister would do much better to follow the statements of his chancellor than to fire smoke candles. The accusations made by the Federal Minister of Labor against the German economy are misleading and are obviously intended to distract attention from the misguided incentives provided by policymakers that are exacerbating the shortage of labor and skilled workers:

1. Early retirement at the age of 63, which is free of deductions, takes people out of the companies who, as people with experience and responsibility, leave behind deep gaps. Politicians themselves are surprised by the effects of their wrong decision.
2. The unprecedented expansion of state responsibilities is leading to an equally unprecedented expansion of jobs in public sectors. The state itself is exacerbating the labor and skilled worker problem for private companies. Not only at the political management level, but also down to the depths of administration - everywhere the state wants more personnel. Constantly new bureaucracies that want to administer and control. Never before has the state interfered so deeply with entrepreneurial freedom as it does these days. And rarely has a public administration been so extensively staffed. The necessary balance is obviously lacking here.

The statements of the Federal Minister of Labor lack respect for the achievements of companies in the phase of multiple crises. Thus, the employment of older people continues to be a success story. The employment of older people in our companies has developed positively in recent years - and in many sectors. The employment rate of people aged 55 to under 65 has doubled between 2000 and 2021 - from 37% to 72%.

Together with our employees, we are taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Flexible Retirement Act. We have long since adjusted our personnel planning to the new situation. The rethinking in the companies is obviously further advanced than in politics.

We are attractive private employers, wooing every talent in our companies to help us grow quickly out of these multiple crises. We need a policy that accompanies this constructively, removes incentives for early retirement or delayed work - and not lectures that are out of touch with reality.

The Chancellor's analysis of early retirement, on the other hand, was correct. Politics can act - it just has to act."