Yasmin Fahimi, the chairwoman of the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB), confronted the federal government, accusing it of excluding social partners from crucial reform efforts. Speaking to “Der Spiegel’s” video format, “Spitzengespräch” Fahimi highlighted the breadth of input the unions have, stating, “We have made many proposals for state modernization and, especially, for economic and industrial policy…. But these are not being heard enough”.
She raised serious concerns about where labor unions and employers stand in current planning bodies. Fahimi observed that in key committees, such as those dealing with pensions, finance, health, and other crucial sectors, the social partners are largely unconnected to the process. “We are currently seeing that the social partners-both employers and us-are not even involved” she lamented, pointing out that consultation sometimes amounts merely to an hour-long presentation where input is limited to simple commentary.
Furthermore, Fahimi warned that this approach damages both the quality and the public acceptance of any reforms. She argued that crafting societal policy cannot be confined to “the scientific bubble”. Instead, meaningful change requires open discussion about “many changes” and “common initiatives”. Achieving this consensus demands that society engage in a full dialogue.
The DGB chair offered a clear appeal to the governing coalition, calling for a significant increase in communication. “I can only ask this federal government to engage with us in a much more intensive exchange” she stated. She rejected the idea that short, half-hour roundtables-where participants only provide commentary-are sufficient. “This was definitely not the case in the past” Fahimi concluded. “From my perspective, this cannot work”.