DGB Chair Fahimi Criticizes Reform Debate as a "Fairground of Reform Proposals"

Examples from the Current Debate

The DGB chair cited the debates over abolishing a public holiday, restrictions on the right to strike, and the reintroduction of waiting days in case of illness as examples. In her view, such proposals are not reforms that improve anything. "Aber Reformen sind für mich Entscheidungen, die etwas verbessern." Instead, she called for honesty: "Dann sollte man sich auch so ehrlich machen und sagen: Wir wollen deregulieren, wir wollen kürzen, wir wollen sparen."

Fahimi also accused the government of a one-sided economic policy orientation. "Ich glaube, dass insgesamt die Regierung zu viel aus der Perspektive der Haushaltskonsolidierung denkt und zu wenig in der Frage der eigentlichen Zielsetzung: Wo wollen wir hin?" The crucial question, she said, is how lasting new growth can be generated. Proposals such as making the Working Time Act more flexible or higher co-payments in the healthcare system are, in her view, unsuitable for generating growth. "Wir schaffen eben nicht Wachstum dadurch, dass wir das Arbeitszeitgesetz flexibilisieren – wie es die einen nennen, ich sage: aufweichen."

Growth and Social Security

The trade unionist warned of the consequences of the current debate for social cohesion. "Die soziale Sicherheit wegzuhauen mit allerlei völlig unkoordinierten Lösungsvorschlägen, schafft eine Unsicherheit, die natürlich weder zu Zutrauen, Zuversicht noch zu Wachstum beiträgt." She criticized that for over two years there has been a fight against significant cuts in labor and social rights.

Instead, Fahimi advocated for a debate about the country's long-term direction and about the structures in the state and social insurance systems, rather than about isolated individual proposals. Growth and social security go together, she said: "Die Bundesrepublik sei immer dann besonders erfolgreich gewesen, wenn Wachstum und soziale Sicherheit zusammenkommen." She explicitly warned against playing social security off against economic growth.

SPD Tempers Expectations

At the same time, SPD General Secretary Tim Klüssendorf expressed himself cautiously in an interview on Deutschlandfunk regarding the expectations of comprehensive reforms. He said he would be careful with the notion that solutions could be found for all social insurance systems and in all state affairs by the summer break. In that area, too little had been done for decades. The coalition is planning reforms in the areas of pensions, long-term care, and health.

Fahimi's criticism hits the government in a phase in which it faces major challenges in dealing with demographic change and securing the social insurance systems. The DGB chair made clear that, from a trade union perspective, the direction of many of the measures under discussion is the wrong one – away from social security and toward savings at the expense of employees.

The piece was broadcast on 16 June 2026 on Deutschlandfunk; it originally appeared on ntv.de.

The controversy shows the tension between the unions' expectations of a reform policy that places employees and social security at its center, and the fiscal pressure under which the federal government must push ahead with its plans. Fahimi spoke out in favor of organizing growth not against social security, but with it.