Zero tolerance for extremist violence
In reference to a recent incident of racist violence, Merkel noted that: "Anyone in our country who attacks, harasses, or, indeed, tries to kill other people, simply because they come from a different country or have a different skin color, will have to reckon with punishment to the full extent permissible under our system of law." Zero tolerance for extremist violence is a constitutional requirement.
Commitment to social market economy system
Human dignity is also a key standard for the social market economy system.
"There is no alternative to the social market economy system," Merkel noted. Structural reforms are needed to be able to preserve this system. We cannot resign ourselves to the current high levels of unemployment.
Merkel went on to say that living a life in dignity also being able to have a job, adding that reducing unemployment and safeguarding the social security systems are priority tasks. She urged the government as well as the labor and management organizations to work together to find appropriate answers and to implement necessary changes.
Strong unions wanted
Merkel stated emphatically: "I want strong unions!" She also urged that the answers of the past be subjected to review. "Those who don't ask the right questions will be called into question themselves at some point," she warned.
Merkel defended the measures her government has approved with a view to consolidating the federal budget. She said she knows she is asking a lot of people and that "budget cuts are painful" but we must not impose excessive burdens on the younger generation. This would not be in line with the principle of protecting the right of human dignity.
The government wants to bring non-wage labor costs down below 40 percent. The VAT increase will be used in part to lower unemployment insurance from 6.5 to 4.5 percent.
The economic prospects for this year are better than they have been in a long time. The government is reckoning with an increase of 1.5 percent in gross domestic product and expects companies to make use of this positive trend to create jobs and career training opportunities.
Career training situation unsatisfactory
Merkel noted that a good career qualification is the best protection against unemployment, adding that the government is currently dissatisfied with the state of the training pact.
Nearly 40 percent of the persons who are unemployed do not have a career qualification. An equally large percentage has been unemployed for more than a year. There is a need to open up new opportunities and prospects for these people in particular.
Merkel praised the agreement reached in the sector covered by the Industrial Mining, Chemicals and Energy Workers Union (IGBCE), under which the unions accepted a freeze on training pay. In return, employers agreed to provide more training jobs.
Targeted use of "combi wage" and minimum wage
Merkel called a blanket introduction of a combination of low wages and wage subsidies the wrong route to travel. An interesting alternative, in her view, would be to select two target groups for this, older workers above the age of fifty, and younger workers up to the age of twenty-five. She said there is a need to avoid the temptation companies would have of lowering wages across the board and this having to be made up for by government subsidies.
Merkel indicated that the government is considering the possibility of introducing minimum wages in this connection. She warned against excessively hasty measures, saying that what is important in the end is that there be a considerable increase in the number of jobs available. In her view a uniform minimum wage of 7.50 euros would cost jobs.
Merkel stated that employers will need to provide flexible working conditions. She also expressed her support for preserving the collective bargaining system as well as employee codetermination rights.
Reform of social security systems needed
Merkel feels that the pay-as-you-go social security system has a future in Germany. But only if it is reformed and only if we are willing to make the compromises necessary so that there will be enough latitude for the coming generations.
The current demographic trend cannot be reversed over the short term. By 2030 there will only be about two members of the active workforce for each pensioner. Since 1960 average life expectancies have increased and the average number of years pensions are drawn has risen from ten to seventeen years.
No pension cuts
Merkel defended her government's decision to increase the statutory retirement age to 67 by increments, starting in 2012 and completing the process in 2029. She indicated that one of the reasons for doing it this way is that there are not many job opportunities for older workers.
She emphasized that there will not be any pension cuts in the course of the current legislative term.
| The German Trade Union Federation (DGB) is the umbrella organization for eight individual labor unions that cover nearly every sector of the economy. The DGB was founded in 1949 and represents its members in dealings with employers, policymakers, as well as numerous national, regional, and local organizations. The eight member unions currently have a total membership of around 6.8 million. The DGB national conference is held at four-year intervals to make strategy decisions for the years ahead and elect the five full-time members of the national executive. The DGB national executive is made up of the five full-time members plus the presidents of the eight DGB member unions. Michael Sommer has been President of the DGB since 2002. He was reelected for a further four-year term on May 23, 2005 with 78 percent of the votes cast. |
