Yasmin Fahimi said the federal government must take the protesters’ message seriously, make a timely policy correction and discuss the unions’ concrete proposals with them. The DGB leader made the comments to the German Press Agency (dpa) in Berlin after nationwide rallies against reductions in social benefits.
According to the DGB, 175,000 people demonstrated on Saturday in support of a strong welfare state and against cuts. Police put attendance at 20,000 to 25,000 in Nuremberg, 16,000 in Stuttgart, 15,000 in Frankfurt am Main, 13,000 in Hanover and 12,000 in Essen. The union organized marches and rallies in 15 cities.
Fahimi said the demonstrations showed that workers expected social security and labor rights to be protected. “Cuts to social benefits and the erosion of workers’ rights are not tools of active economic policy,” she said.
She called for a convincing agenda to protect and strengthen the EU single market and said the DGB would engage constructively. The report did not specify government measures or a timetable for a policy change.