The chairwoman of the DGB, Yasmin Fahimi, voiced strong criticism regarding the key statements made by Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil (SPD) concerning pension and working-hour policies. Fahimi refuted Klingbeil’s assertion that Germany must “stop encouraging earlier withdrawal from working life” calling the statement “false” during an interview with the “Tagesspiegel”. She rejected Klingbeil’s push for greater support for working longer, stating that those who wish to work longer can already do so, but that many people simply lack the opportunity. Furthermore, she pointed out that the unemployed over 55 years old rarely find comparable good jobs. Moreover, Fahimi argued that the increased employment rate is not a success of the pension at age 67, but rather evidence of improved labor market policies.
Fahimi also refuted Klingbeil’s recent claim that society as a whole needs to work more. She questioned his premises when saying that no problem exists with the labor volume, asserting that “enough work is fundamentally done here”. Questioning the practicality of such statements, she asked, “What should an industrial worker currently on short-time work think of such statements? Or the 120,000 people who lost their jobs in the industry in 2025?” Fahimi added that the amount of work done in full-time jobs in Germany “is no less than in other European countries”. She acknowledged that Germany has a disproportionately high rate of part-time work, but viewed it as “a reason for joy, not for complaint” because it has significantly boosted the female employment rate.
Fahimi dismissed the proposal from CSU leader Markus Söder for an extra working hour per week, calling it “technocratic number-crunching that divorces itself from reality”. She stated that Söder is not the appropriate person to determine weekly working hours. Fahimi characterized this political maneuvering during wage negotiations as an attempt to weaken the necessary compromises made within those negotiations, a development she expressed displeasure over.
Furthermore, Fahimi voiced concerns about Klingbeil’s worry that the SPD is increasingly perceived as a party of welfare recipients. While acknowledging that the SPD must “take this feedback very seriously” she urged the party to follow a clearer course of social justice rather than getting lost in “minor compromises”. The former SPD general secretary concluded by suggesting, “The profile of the SPD is apparently too vague”.