The Green politician Ricarda Lang criticized the new Federal Minister of Labor, Alexander Schweitzer (SPD), regarding his draft law on labor law. Lang, who serves in the Bundestag Committee on Labor and Social Affairs for her faction, stated that just as she supports strengthening corporate co-determination, linking it to an expansion of unjustified fixed-term contracts would be wrong.
Lang continued that the planned expansion of fixed-term contracts does not solve any economic problems but instead makes a lack of security the legal norm, taking away young families and career starters the ability to reliably plan their future. She expected Schweitzer, instead, to take the side of the employees.
The Ministry of Labor had submitted a draft law for departmental consultation on Tuesday, which implements decisions made by the coalition steering committee in July. Among other things, the law would allow employment contracts to be fixed-term until the end of 2030 for four years without the need for a specific legitimate reason, instead of only two years. Employee rights, on the other hand, are set to be expanded regarding co-determination opportunities in European joint-stock companies (SE).
Criticism of the overall package is also coming from the Left Party. The Left party member Pascal Meiser stated that the planned expansion of unjustified fixed-term contracts is a frontal attack on employee rights and also threatens to massively weaken trade unions further. He described the measures as truly lacking backbone, noting that the SPD is once again doing the opposite of what it promised during the election campaign. He added that the consequences, especially for young employees, would only further increase the frustration of young people with the government’s policies.
