The coalition’s plan to expand the use of fixed-term employment contracts has drawn intense criticism from the Green Party and The Left. Ricarda Lang, a former leader of the Greens, stated in interviews with the “Rheinische Post” that the measure planned by the center-right and center-left coalition for the labor market constitutes “politically organized future anxiety.” She added that the conservatives (Union) are intensifying “precarization,” a trend with which the Social Democrats (SPD) are once again moving in the same direction.
Luigi Pantisano, the leader of The Left, described the package not as a labor market reform but as a “throwaway job law.” He emphasized that the plan prolongs uncertainty rather than creating a stable future. Pantisano asserted that forcing people to constantly rely on contract extensions for years essentially tells them that they are interchangeable.
This loosening of regulations regarding temporary employment is part of the 34-point reform agenda, titled “For Growth and Employment,” which the coalition leaders approved earlier in July. Under the new rules, employees hired until the end of 2030 could potentially be on a contract without a specific substantive reason for a period of up to 48 months. Furthermore, up to six extensions would be permissible. Currently, fixed-term contracts without a specific justification can last for a maximum of two years and allow for at most three extensions of six months each.
Lang criticized the expansion of unjustified fixed-term contracts to four years and the erosion of hiring prohibitions, asserting that this turns ‘chain contracts’ into a business model. She passionately argued that what concerns her most is the government’s pretense that such measures can spur economic dynamism. In reality, she believes the government is merely trying to distract from its own failures in economic policy. She stressed that this measure disproportionately affects those who already lack job security-such as skilled laborers, cashiers, newcomers, and generally vulnerable workers-who are already struggling to extend their contracts even today.
