The chairwoman of the IG Metall union, Christiane Benner, has rejected the union’s proposal to abolish May 1st Holiday criticized. “The proposal to abolish May 1st, our Labor Day, as a public holiday is like removing the C from the CDU,” Benner told ZEIT. The idea of abolishing public holidays is generally criticized.
Benner also described the assumption that the economy in Germany could be stimulated by abolishing public holidays as wrong. “Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg, the two federal states with the most public holidays, have been among the driving forces of the German economy for decades,” she argued. “The idea that you just have to cancel enough holidays and the economy will boom is complete nonsense.”
The SPD and DGB also reject the move
According to reports The Union proposed abolishing May 1st as a public holiday at the coalition summit of the CDU, CSU and SPD in Villa Borsig. The SPD but is said to have rejected this. The idea of canceling one or more holidays has been around for a long time in the wake of the crisis in the German economy, but it is highly controversial. One A study by the Hans Böckler Foundation recently suggested that canceled public holidays have no measurable effect on economic performance.
That too German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) criticized the idea of the Union. “So while the burden continues to increase, the employees of all people have to shoulder even more,” it says in a statement. The DGB particularly criticized the fact that Labor Day, of all things, should be abolished. »May 1st is not just any holiday. It is the day of the employees. It stands for what has been fought for over decades: rights, protection, participation. Anyone who questions this day is questioning the importance of work and the people behind it.
Unions criticize cuts
The unions are generally critical of the announced reforms. Benner recently criticized the draft pension reform. “If the government cuts the statutory pension, then the hut will burn,” said Benner South German newspaper. “There are no-gos to which we would respond with protests.” Chancellor Friedrich Merz (CDU) had In the future, the statutory pension will only be called “basic insurance”.. The chairwoman of the DGB, Yasmin Fahimi, criticized the government for neglecting its social partnerships and hardly including employer and employee representatives.
The black-red federal government has decided to introduce major reforms in the areas of pensions, work and health, among other things. However, there are still many unresolved points, both between and within the parties. Merz had called on the SPD to resolve “some blockages.”which hindered the work of the government. The SPD, for its part, criticized the Merz Union for appearing chaotic and poorly coordinated in discussions on government projectswhile the SPD, which has government experience, is more targeted. The Mirror recently reported violent clashes between Merz and his SPD Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil at coalition talks. Reforms were actually supposed to come in the fall.