Family Minister Karin Prien (CDU) welcomed the plan to debate the abolition of the statutory right to part‑time work at the upcoming CDU party congress. “In light of demographic trends and their effects on the economy, I think it is good to discuss this proposal at the party meeting” she told the newspapers of the Funke media group on Monday. “I am also concerned with the economic independence of women”.
She added that part‑time work remains essential for many families, enabling a better work-family balance. “The statutory right to part‑time is crucial for working people who, in addition to their jobs, have to raise children, care for relatives, or pursue further education alongside their professional duties” Prien said. She noted that the MIT’s proposal does not threaten this legal entitlement. “This is particularly important to me as Federal Minister of Women’s Affairs, since women are disproportionately employed part‑time” she added.
Opposition came from the FDP, which rejected the move. “Abolishing the right to part‑time would be symbolic and symptomatic politics, doing nothing to address the core problem” said FDP deputy chair Henning Höne in an interview with the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” (Sunday editions).
Höne argued that to allow more people to work full time, financial relief through lower social contributions and taxes, along with better child‑care options, would be more effective. “Many wish to work more than part‑time, but the financial shift from part‑time to full time pays off far too little in our country because the heavy state of social contributions and taxes pocket the additional effort” he explained. “Moreover, child‑care arrangements are often unreliable and underdeveloped, making it hard to depend on them and forcing people to reduce their working hours”.
The Mittelstands‑ und Wirtschaftsunion (MIT) of the CDU has submitted a motion for the next party congress proposing the abolition of the current statutory right to part‑time work, with exceptions retained for child care and for those caring for relatives.