Don't Germans enjoy work?
Or is it no longer worth it?
A master painter provides evidence to the contrary in "Hart aber fair".
Berlin – The "Hard but fair" edition is just two minutes old when Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) dissects the motto that Louis Klamroth had put in front of the evening.
The moderator wants to know whether the Germans are "no longer in the mood" to work.
And Heil replies: "I think what people need is a future in work and decent working and wage conditions and not abstract debates about their work ethic."
But Klamroth keeps paddling.
He dramatically portrays the situation in a single player: union demands for double-digit wage increases are reflected in an inflation rate that was officially "only" 6.9 percent last year.
The counter-argument - every supermarket customer knows that the actual inflation is much higher in many areas - he does not accept.
Kindergarten teacher Karen Malsy says dejectedly that she has to think about what else she can buy.
That's only worth a few seconds of sympathy to Klamroth.
He denounces people's attitudes and speaks of the "new power of employees: more money for less work".
And surprises Malsy with the question of how much she actually earns.
In Steffen Kampeter, Klamroth has a comrade-in-arms.
The BDA managing director does what his job is: As a representative of the employers' side, he denounces the Germans' willingness to go on strike, although he admits that it is extremely moderate compared to France, for example.
Kampeter nevertheless calls for "proportionality" and says: "It used to be common to resort to strike action at the end of a collective bargaining dispute.
It is now considered good manners at the start of a collective bargaining dispute.
A bit of measure and balance got lost there.” If, as announced by the trade unions for March 27, “an entire country is to be blocked, then I find that a disproportionate means”.
"Hard but fair": These guests discussed with Louis Klamroth
Jessica Hansen
(entrepreneur, master painter)
Hubertus Heil
(Federal Minister of Labor, SPD)
Steffen Kampeter
(Managing Director of the Federal Association of Employers' Associations BDA)
Karen Malsy
(educator)
Frank Thelen
(entrepreneur, founder)
Sara Weber
(Author)
Entrepreneur Thelen warns of a wage-price spiral
In view of skyrocketing prices and double-digit union demands, entrepreneur Frank Thelen warns of a wage-price spiral and recommends that the central banks “rather get inflation to two or three percent without killing the economy completely”.
He doesn't reveal how that could work.
And Klamroth doesn't ask either.
Kampeter sees the problem with the state: "We need more net from the gross." The tax burden must be reduced.
Minister of Labor Heil wants "a fair balance between capital and work" - a demand that should actually be made of him instead of him.
The state should set “a framework”.
Heil: "But I don't actually wish for ever higher minimum wages, but more decent collective wages again.
This means that we also have to take care of areas where there are no collective agreements at all.
We only have 52 percent of employees who are covered by a collective agreement.” With an average of just 18 strike days per year, Germany is very cautious.
Author Sara Weber recalls: “In NRW there was a 79-day strike at the university hospitals last year until something happened.
for 79 days.”
The supposed mismatch between work and leisure, known in modern German as work-life balance, occupied the group for minutes without any new insights.
Kampeter: “This country is based on work.
And hard work.” Heil knows: “We need better wage working conditions.
I know a few young people who dream of fairy dust, but I know very hard-working, young trainees who really want to work.” Kampeter has the right slogan up his sleeve: “What a poor society, where work is not part of life “.
Klamroth laughs: "Oh, nicely redefined, Mr. Kampeter."
Hubertus Heil on the dream job "Influencer": "Think it over again"
Heil reminds us that there are not only Abitur and studies, but also the classic apprenticeships.
In the preparation for it he sees deficits.
“I think it is very important that there is careers guidance in schools.
Even in high schools.
I would also say to someone who tells me at 14, 15, 16, 'My job is to become an influencer': think again."
This is obviously a surprising thought for Klamroth: “What do you have against influencers?” he asks, and Heil adds: “Nothing at all.
Anyone can be.
I only know one thing: the best ticket to get in is still proper vocational training.” Young people today have “sometimes funny role models”.
Author Weber, who gave up her well-paid job voluntarily, explains what can go wrong in working life.
"I could still enjoy my life, but not enough," she says.
Her therapist confirmed this to her.
That's why she had to resign.
Thelen then demands an unconditional basic income so that everyone can choose the job they like.
Master painter Jessica Hansen is now reporting how she made her company attractive to employees again: with a four-day week and flexible working hours.
Within three weeks she had 50 applicants.
And what’s more: “I hardly ever have sick days anymore.
It's just insane."
Conclusion of the "hard but fair" talk
The actual reasons for the problems on the labor market were not discussed: that entrepreneurs cash in and people sometimes have to take on several jobs while the money is no longer enough.
When it came to the current topic of the “Galeria Kaufhof” insolvency, the sloping nature of the discussion became particularly clear.
The Austrian billionaire René Benko wants to have his investments reimbursed by taxpayers for the second time in three years, while 4,300 people lose their jobs.
For the round, including Hubertus Heil, the state is required here, not the entrepreneur.
(Michael Goermann)
