Status: 11/14/2021 8:54 a.m.
According to a media report, Minister of Labor Heil wants to reintroduce the home office obligation. Greens co-party leader Habeck and SPD health expert Lauterbach are in favor of using the 3G rule in rail traffic.
In view of the increasing number of infections, calls for stricter corona measures are becoming louder again. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil apparently wants to reintroduce an obligation to work from home. This was reported by “Bild am Sonntag” with reference to a draft law that the Federal Ministry of Labor had submitted to the traffic light parties SPD, Greens and FDP. Accordingly, 3G is also mandatory in the workplace.
“In the case of office work or comparable activities, the employer has to offer employees to carry out these activities in their home if there are no compelling operational reasons to the contrary,” the newspaper quotes from the draft. “The employees have to accept this offer, provided there are no reasons to the contrary.”
Position of the FDP on the home office obligation is still unclear
According to “Bild”, the parliamentary groups of the traffic light parties have been discussing the draft since the weekend. In particular with the FDP it is therefore still unclear how it positions itself. According to “Bild”, the planned 3G rule at the workplace – that is, the obligation to present proof of vaccination, recovery or a negative test result – provides that the employer does not have to offer tests. Unvaccinated employees would therefore have to take care of a certified rapid test themselves on a daily basis.
Green co-boss Robert Habeck also spoke out in favor of greater use of the home office. “The situation in Germany is extremely dramatic,” he told the newspapers of the “Funke Mediengruppe”. “If the fourth wave is not broken quickly, the hospital system threatens to collapse in December,” he warned.
“Rail travel must be safer”
Habeck also called for the 3G rule to be applied in train traffic. Travelers would then have to be vaccinated, recovered or tested. “Yes, rail travel must also become safer. From my point of view, 3G should apply here, we will have to talk about that,” he said.
The SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach also spoke out in favor. “3G should also apply in trains. In this corona situation, it is irresponsible that unvaccinated and untested people sit close to other passengers for hours on long-distance transport,” said Lauterbach of “Bild am Sonntag”.
Habeck also believes that restrictions on freedom for unvaccinated people are possible: “Contact restrictions are painful cuts, we all know that too well. But given the dramatic situation, they may be necessary regionally for unvaccinated people. The same should be included in the Infection Protection Act.” Compulsory vaccination for certain occupational groups is also useful.