Traffic light government - President of the skilled crafts sector: Confidence in the traffic light coalition is lacking
Handwerk President Jörg Dittrich expressed frustration with the Coalition's work - and called for decisive actions from the Federal Government to make Germany more competitive. "Overall, there is a lack of trust that the Federal Government will decisively intervene and take the necessary steps to make Germany more competitive again. This is absolutely necessary."
In the Federal Government made up of SPD, Greens, and FDP, negotiations are ongoing over the Federal Budget 2025. Several ministries refuse to adhere to the spending proposals from Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). A cabinet decision is aimed for in July. The Coalition also plans a "Dynamization Package" to boost growth.
Dittrich: Training camps necessary
"The constant bickering and back-and-forth is exhausting and to some extent frustrating," said the President of the German Crafts Association, looking at the Traffic Light Coalition. "We are not competitive enough, and it's not enough to buy a new training suit. We need to go to training camp."
More private investments need to be encouraged. The tax and tax burden needs to decrease. The electricity tax needs to be lowered for all consumers, including businesses. Bureaucracy needs to be reduced. "Fewer forms, more business for sure. More trust in businesses and employees."
Politics should tackle major issues
The politics are not tackling major issues, according to Dittrich. The economic policy compass needs to be realigned. "Handworkers and handworkers name the three largest problem areas as the high tax and tax burden, bureaucracy, and skilled labor security," said the Crafts Association President.
"The tasks for politics are clear: Businesses and employees need to be relieved to give them room for investments. The bureaucracy reduction should not only be on paper but should be noticeable in business operations." For skilled labor security, it is crucial that politics finally implements the "Education Turnaround" and creates equality: "So that young people can see that craft work offers them a career with meaning, security, and future."
Handwerk: Social contributions need to go down
It is increasingly urgent that there is a fundamental reform of the social insurance systems discussed. "The burdens for businesses and employees are simply getting out of control." However, politics is stuck on the issue of social contributions. Neither the Government nor the Opposition dare to tackle it. "We have been warning for years that the contributions are getting out of control if we do not fundamentally reform the financing of the social insurance systems and thereby relieve the wage factor."
Especially labor-intensive crafts are being disadvantaged compared to economic sectors where personnel costs have a lower share. "What we are currently experiencing is exactly what we feared: The breach of the 40% mark last year was a dam. Social contributions have been rising at an alarming rate since then. In ten years, social contributions are expected to almost reach the 50% mark."
- Christian Lindner, as the Finance Minister in the Federal Government, is facing resistance from several ministries regarding the spending proposals for the Federal Budget 2025.
- Jörg Dittrich, the President of the German Crafts Association, has criticized the Traffic Light Coalition, stating that constant bickering and back-and-forth is exhausting and frustrating, and that Germany needs more than just a new training suit to become more competitive – it needs to attend a "training camp."
- In his call for decisive actions from the Federal Government, Dittrich also highlighted the need for more private investments, a decrease in tax and tax burden, a lower electricity tax for consumers, and a reduction in bureaucracy, arguing that fewer forms would lead to more business and more trust in businesses and employees.
- The President of the German Crafts Association also pointed out that politics is not tackling major issues and that the economic policy compass needs to be realigned, focusing on relieving businesses and employees to provide them with room for investments, noticeable bureaucracy reduction in business operations, and the implementation of the "Education Turnaround" for skilled labor security.
- According to Dittrich, it's crucial that politics fundamentally reforms the social insurance systems to alleviate the burdens on businesses and employees, particularly in labor-intensive crafts, where personnel costs have a higher share, as social contributions are increasingly pushing past the 40% mark and are expected to approach the 50% mark within ten years.
