On Wednesday, the Bundestag will debate a general obligation to vaccinate – and probably also the possible consequences for the German economy.
That would be fatal, warns Gesamtmetall President Dr. Stephen Wolf! At BILD Live he said on Tuesday morning that there were around 700,000 unvaccinated employees in the industry. His drastic warning: “If the vaccination comes and you can’t continue working, we are threatened with total collapse.”
This danger exists if the Bundestag decides on a tough implementation of the vaccination requirement, which would prohibit the unvaccinated from entering their business premises.
In many areas, companies would then no longer be able to produce, supply chains would be interrupted: “The automotive industry is very divided up. This includes many suppliers. That would all come to a standstill.”
Other sectors would also be hit hard by the vaccination requirement, such as mechanical engineering or the electrical industry: “One has to say clearly that there is a lot of prosperity and jobs here in Germany. It will hit them the hardest.” Many companies have already been shaken by the chip crisis: “If there were additional interruptions due to compulsory vaccination, Germany would not produce a single car anymore.”
Wolf himself is in principle even in favor of compulsory vaccination at BILD Live: “But I am against the exclusion of people from the companies.” You have to increase the psychological pressure on people to get vaccinated. A compulsory vaccination is good for this.
The companies are currently trying all means to get their employees to vaccinate, says Wolf: “Every company kneels on the people who are not yet vaccinated. We continue to appeal to all.”
His appeal to the Bundestag: “But if there is a ban on entry for the unvaccinated, it will be really difficult.”