Left party leader Jan van Aken calls on SPD, Union, and Green chancellor candidates to publicly and clearly commit to preserving the instrument of wage continuation during illness days.
They should “publicly and unambiguously clarify that they will unequivocally reject this demand in a future federal government” according to a letter from van Aken to Olaf Scholz, Friedrich Merz, and Robert Habeck, reported by the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition).
The demand raised by Allianz CEO Oliver Bäte is already sowing uncertainty among employees and is clearly not suitable for improving the high sickness rate, van Aken says.
Wage continuation during illness is an important part of workers’ protection. A restriction of this right would not only put the financial security of many employees at risk, but also lead to more colleagues appearing at work out of fear of income loss, van Aken says. This would harm the health of all parties involved and, in the long run, also the economic productivity.
Instead, the sickness rate could be sustainably reduced, for example, through better working conditions, better remuneration, and “the promotion of the compatibility of work and family.” The democratic parties in the next Bundestag should, across party lines, launch a nationwide “Alliance for Good Work” according to the letter. “In the interest of millions of employees, I hope you will clearly and promptly reject any restriction of wage continuation during illness” van Aken says.