The call criticises planned cuts affecting social security, working-time rules and municipal services. It particularly highlights retirement after 45 years of contributions, protection of the eight-hour working day, rising living and housing costs, and the financial burden on municipalities.
Read the full call in English
On 18 September, DGB Erlangen, together with various organisations, is calling for protests in the form of a rally. The reason is serious: an increasing number of political initiatives by the current Federal Government are attacking fundamental social achievements of our welfare state.
Many improvements in pensions, working time and wage development that employees fought for over decades are now being called into question, as are social advances designed to safeguard equal and self-determined lives for all sections of our population. This amounts to a sweeping dismantling of social protections.
Whether it is working time, healthcare or constantly rising living and housing costs, the burden has for years increasingly been shifted onto employees, pensioners and families. With the reforms currently being planned by the Federal Government, a new low is being reached.
From the trade unions’ point of view, this is particularly evident in the discussions about retirement after 45 years of contributions and the proposed changes to working-time regulations. Anyone who has worked and paid social-security contributions throughout their working life must continue to have the option of retiring without pension deductions.
The eight-hour working day is one of the most important safeguards for employees’ health. Any further weakening of working-time rules will make it even harder to reconcile work, family and leisure time. Labour productivity has demonstrably risen sharply since the introduction of the eight-hour day and the five-day week. The debate should therefore really be about reducing working time.
Alongside the trade unions, various organisations and political parties are also taking part in the protests. They expect the planned reforms to cause far-reaching cuts affecting, for example, people with disabilities and their families. According to estimates cited by The Left, the proposed reductions in social benefits would affect around eight million people in Germany.
Instead of the planned savings, the organisers are calling for new models to finance the welfare state. While real wages have stagnated in recent years, the wealth of a small number of millionaires and billionaires has risen sharply. The announced tax relief will not offset the shortfall caused by higher social-security contributions. The call therefore demands appropriate taxation of the super-rich in order to secure funding for the welfare state and necessary investment in the future.
DGB and other organisers also sharply criticise what they describe as excessive Federal Government spending on armaments. They argue that this comes at the expense of the welfare state, public services and urgently needed future investment and leads to unacceptable austerity measures.
Municipalities such as the City of Erlangen are also currently making extensive cuts affecting employees, culture and social participation. Outdoor swimming pools, childcare facilities, theatres, social services and affordable housing are at risk. Many people in Erlangen are already directly experiencing the consequences. In addition to tax-law factors, the causes include tasks transferred to municipalities by the federal and state governments without corresponding funding. The organisers are calling on the Federal Government to remedy this.
The welfare state is not up for negotiation. Good pensions, effective healthcare, dignified care, affordable housing and fair working conditions are not privileges; they are pillars of a democratic and just society.
