The German crafts sector is issuing a stark warning to Chancellor Scholz’s government, demanding immediate and tangible action on promised regulatory reforms. Jörg Dittrich, president of the Zentralverband des Deutschen Handwerks (ZDH), the central association of German crafts, has expressed deep frustration over the slow pace of bureaucratic simplification, arguing it is stifling growth and discouraging entrepreneurial ambition within the vital sector.
While the government’s modernization agenda includes plans to abolish the “Bonpflicht” (mandatory proof of apprenticeship supervision), Dittrich stressed that this symbolic gesture offers little practical relief to businesses until it is fully implemented. He characterized the current regulatory landscape as a morass of “absurd” rules, claiming that the unrelenting demands for documentation are proving crippling.
“The sheer volume of required evidence consumes time, money and morale” Dittrich told Bild newspaper. He drew a particularly pointed analogy, stating that businesses often find themselves compelled to provide written assurances they haven’t made errors – “as if one had to sign a document each time exiting a car, attesting to the fact that one hadn’t exceeded the speed limit.
The ZDH president highlighted a growing trend where even data already captured digitally or automatically is subject to further, redundant documentation. This escalating bureaucratic burden, he argues, is particularly discouraging young master craftsmen from establishing independent businesses, jeopardizing the long-term sustainability of the sector.
Dittrich’s plea represents more than just a request for streamlined processes. It underscores a rising disconnect between government promises of economic support and the daily realities faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the backbone of the German economy. The ZDH is now calling for a consistent and expanded implementation of the modernization agenda, insisting that businesses need to be freed from the “impenetrable jungle of bureaucracy” so they can refocus on their core craftwork. The pressure is building on Berlin to deliver tangible results, lest the government risk contributing to a decline in skilled labor and entrepreneurial spirit within Germany.
