Majority of population rejects expansion of non-objective fixed-term contracts

The coalition wants to extend the maximum duration of a groundless fixed-term contract to four years. Non-objective fixed-term contracts should become possible for up to 48 months for employees hired by the end of 2030 and may be extended six times, as emerges from the results of the coalition committee. Up to six contracts are permitted within the four years.

What the reform specifically provides for

If there is no such good reason, then a fixed-term contract with one and the same employer is only permitted for a maximum of two years. The governing coalition is planning, as part of the welfare state reforms, to enable longer fixed-term employment relationships.

Parental leave, for example, would be a good reason. Or a major contract. Or a project. The employers' association BDA, on the other hand, praises the reform plans. It sees them as the first real flexibilization of labor law in decades.

Nearly 38 percent of new hires in Germany are on fixed-term contracts, according to a survey by the Hans Böckler Foundation of the DGB. Studies, on the other hand, show that fixed-term contracts lead to economic insecurity among employees – and that, for example, starting a family, getting married, or buying a property are postponed.

Criticism from unions and academia

Andreas Keller, who calls fixed-term contracts a "Verunsicherung gegen den Beschäftigten", warns of the consequences: "Gerade in Ostdeutschland, wo wir jetzt schon eine große Unsicherheit haben bei Beschäftigten – wo viele sagen: ich gehe vielleicht in eine andere Region – da wird sich das genau so auswirken, dass die Verunsicherung zunimmt". Keller is a member of the Gewerkschaft Erziehung und Wissenschaft (GEW).

Mathias Kuhnt, a researcher at TU Dresden and a member of the 'Netzwerk für Gute Arbeit in der Wissenschaft', demands that universities be exempted from the planned regulation. He refers to an existing special rule: "Wir haben jetzt schon die Möglichkeit, zwölf Jahre – wenn dann Kinderzeiten dazu kommen, nochmal länger – die Person zu befristen, ohne irgendeine Perspektive zu bieten". This allows, for example, academic staff to sometimes be employed on repeatedly fixed-term contracts for decades.

Support from the business community

Sepp Müller, deputy parliamentary group leader of the CDU/CSU, on the other hand, advocates for the reform. He argues with regard to eastern Germany: The family businesses there are significantly less capitalized. At the same time, he criticizes that in Germany, particularly in eastern Germany, jobs are being lost daily. "Wir brauchen ein Signal, dass unsere Wirtschaft wachsen soll und auch muss", says Müller. And: "Wenn wir den Wohlstand erhalten wollen, dann müssen wir uns bewegen".

More than half of Germans are against the planned expansion of non-objective fixed-term contracts by the coalition. How the coalition will handle the clear vote of the population remains open. (dpa-AFX)