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Ver.di boss Frank Werneke
Photo: Fabian Sommer / dpa
In Baden-Württemberg, the following applies from Thursday: Anyone who has to go into quarantine without vaccination will no longer receive compensation for loss of earnings.
Other federal states want to follow suit.
Criticism comes from the service union Ver.di.
From the union's point of view, it is wrong to try to "introduce compulsory vaccinations through the back door," said union chief Frank Werneke to the newspapers of the Funke media group.
"Politics says that vaccination should remain voluntary."
The debate triggered by employers' associations and Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn on the cancellation of the compensation is counterproductive, said Werneke.
This shifts the conflicts to companies and workforces and creates uncertainty.
From Werneke's point of view, the DGB and its member unions have been playing an active role in accelerating the vaccination rate in Germany for months.
"Employers are now called upon to emphatically advertise vaccinations and enable them during working hours," he demanded.
Bavaria's Minister of Health, Klaus Holetschek, on the other hand, reiterated his call for a nationwide suspension of wage replacement benefits.
"One thing is clear: everyone can be vaccinated, nobody has to," the chairman of the conference of health ministers told the editorial network in Germany.
However, anyone who consciously decides not to have a vaccination, although there is nothing medically against it, is acting without solidarity.
Then he could not demand any compensation from the solidarity community.
The federal and state health ministers want to discuss next week on a nationwide uniform approach to this issue.
mmq / dpa / AFP