Ahead of a high-level meeting at the Federal Chancellery, DGB Chief Yasmin Fahimi heavily criticized the government’s reform plans as misguided and announced the intention to put forward counter-proposals. Speaking to the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland,” Fahimi argued that the current approach is completely misguided both economically and socially. She criticized the reform agenda, which currently focuses heavily on savings and cuts, asserting that this tendency inevitably kills domestic demand.
The union leader made it clear that the DGB intends to present an alternative set of reform suggestions during the upcoming meeting-proposals aimed at easing burdens on companies and stimulating economic growth. Specifically, Fahimi stated that companies that are actively investing in locations, maintaining good employment practices, or transitioning toward climate neutrality must receive targeted relief. She stressed that if a reform spirit is to be pursued, all necessary reforms must be open for discussion.
She rejected the government’s current strategy of radical austerity without initiating structural changes, calling it incorrect and ineffective in modernizing the country. “We do not need purely cutting programs; we need structural reforms,” Fahimi insisted, urging that the country needs a growth agenda for sustainable business and good jobs, rather than simply “pain from reform.”
Fahimi also dismissed the idea of indiscriminately cutting all state subsidies by a set percentage to partially fund a tax reform as utterly nonsensical. She condemned the approach as neither targeted policy nor a sweeping cleanup, stating that neither method would address the root causes of the problems. “We do not want to prevent reforms, but we want to shape them reasonably,” she concluded, adding that the existing plans could certainly still be modified.
The top representatives of the coalition, along with leaders from trade unions and business associations, are scheduled to meet at the Chancellery this Wednesday to discuss the planned reforms. The Union and SPD parties have set an ambitious timetable, aiming to finalize the most important key points by the end of June or early July.
