Several members of the SPD have sharply criticized the Union for the Economy and Small Businesses (MIT) for calling to abolish the right to part‑time work.
“People in Germany are already working at the limit of their capacity in many cases” said Annika Klose, the SPD’s social‑policy spokesperson, to the “Spiegel”. “The Union’s approach of further increasing pressure on employees with its proposals is a wrong path that leads to a dead end: higher rates of burnout or an earlier exit from the labour market”. Klose added that it was right to eliminate distortions such as mini‑jobs and marital‑splitting tax rules, but lamented that the MIT instead relies on populist rhetoric on the backs of workers.
SPD MP Rasha Nasr also rebuked the MIT’s initiative. “The legal right to part‑time work is not a luxury or a sign of a lack of solidarity” she told the “Spiegel”. “For millions of employees it is essential for balancing work, family, care responsibilities or health. Those who label part‑time workers as unsolidary misunderstand the lived reality of many people and devalue their contribution”.
Economic policy spokesperson Sebastian Roloff expressed similar concerns. “Those who want to cut social benefits for part‑time workers show that this is not about protecting skilled labour but about ideology carried over on the backs of employees” he said. “We need more working time in Germany, but the way forward requires better child care, genuine relief in care work, and incentives instead of sanctions”.