According to the state chairman of the social association VdK Bayern, Ulrike Mascher, the Free State needs an education time law. Volunteers would be supported by the state for their commitment, Mascher explained on Wednesday in Munich. She contradicted Social Affairs Minister Ulrike Scharf (CSU). The latter had rejected such a law as “ineffective”, which would give employees in Bavaria opportunities for further training in the form of “educational leave days”.
According to the announcement, currently working citizens in Bavaria who want to acquire basic knowledge for voluntary work have to use their regular vacation days to attend seminars and training courses. “Anyone who wants to take on responsibility on a club board, as a cashier or as a secretary needs extensive knowledge,” said Mascher. Younger people in particular should be given incentives to get involved in these activities. If the state government wants to maintain and promote the diverse club life in Bavaria, the education period is a necessary building block.
According to the VdK, it is part of the alliance “Educational Leave for Employees in Bavaria”. With 23 other organizations, the alliance is calling for a legal regulation for paid educational leave for all employees for at least ten days in two years. With the exception of Saxony and Bavaria, all federal states granted entitlement to paid educational leave. “In Bavaria, the promotion of voluntary work is even anchored in the constitution as a state goal,” reminded the VdK state chairwoman. An education time law would provide credible evidence of this, she appealed to the state government.