Labor Day
Chancellor Scholz defends workers
“It annoys me when some people talk disparagingly about “Germany’s theme park”: Chancellor Olaf Scholz. photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The DGB has called for demonstrations nationwide on Labor Day. The Chancellor sends a video. The message: The situation is nowhere near as bad as some people claim.
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) warned of social cuts on Labor Day. “May 1st is the day of solidarity – we will not allow ourselves to be driven apart,” said the SPD politician to the Berlin “Tagesspiegel”. “Especially on Labor Day, one cannot emphasize enough: I will not allow workers’ rights to be slashed and the welfare state to be dismantled!”
Demonstrations for better working conditions are planned across Germany this Wednesday for Labor Day. The focus of the events is a central rally by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in Hanover (from 11 a.m.), to which Prime Minister Stephan Weil (SPD) has been announced alongside DGB boss Yasmin Fahimi.
Chancellor: Germany is not an “amusement park”
Scholz emphasized that employees in Germany had never worked as many hours as last year. “That’s why it annoys me when some people talk disparagingly about ‘Germany’s theme park’.” With over 46 million women and men, there are more employed people in Germany than ever before.
But even more workers will be needed in the coming years, said the Chancellor. “That’s why we’re also ensuring that those who fled to us from Russia’s war in Ukraine get work more quickly.” Because work is more than making money. “Work also means: belonging, having colleagues, experiencing recognition and appreciation.”
Employer President: More work necessary
Employer President Rainer Dulger called for people to work more again on Labor Day. “We need more work in Germany, not less,” explained Dulger. “Germany discusses too much about the conditions of non-work – and too little about the value of work,” complained the President of the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations (BDA). The focus must be on the question of how Germany can be made attractive again as a location. “This also means that we will all have to work more and longer,” Dulger made clear. To achieve this, the framework conditions for work would have to be improved.
“Work is much more than a necessity, this must be brought into greater focus again on May 1st,” emphasized the BDA boss and added: “There is no such thing as effortless prosperity. And: value creation arises in private entrepreneurs.”