Berlin/Hannover/Frankfurt am Main – In view of the still unresolved budget crisis, DGB, IG Metall and IGBCE are warning of an exodus from industry and the loss of thousands of jobs. They call on federal and state politicians to quickly develop viable solutions to the challenges posed by the Federal Constitutional Court’s ruling. In the short term, it must be ensured that the essential public investments and the funding instruments for private investments in green transformation and other future technologies will also be available in 2024. In addition, DGB, IG Metall and IGBCE are calling for competitive electricity prices for energy-intensive industries as well as a multi-year, reliable and clearly communicated plan for ramping up investment activity by the public sector and its rapid implementation. They warn that the current uncertainty in the economy is dangerous: long-term, risky investments that companies have to make now cannot be reconciled with constant rule changes due to new political requirements.
Yasmin Fahimi, Chairwoman of the DGB: “With the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, the important tasks of renewing our infrastructure and securing industrial value creation cannot simply be shelved. And now is not the time for partisan political banter. Securing locations, maintaining value chains and increasing climate protection are primarily in the interests of future generations. A quick and constitutionally compliant solution to ensure that the tasks of the century are met is the creation of a special fund in the Basic Law in order to finally release the brake on the renewal of our country. To achieve this, all responsible democrats must now come together. We have long been calling for decisive action to reduce energy costs. A further federal subsidy for network charges is therefore a must for all consumers.”
Jürgen Kerner, Second Chairman of IG Metall: “The strategic investment decisions for the next decades are now being made. Now it will be decided whether Germany will remain a strong industrial country with good jobs. In order for this to succeed, we need a state that is capable of acting and investing in the future. The green transformation is the biggest conceivable transformation of our industry. It doesn’t come for free. We call on all political forces – including the CDU as the largest opposition party – to take responsibility and ensure the financing of the transformation. Otherwise, future investments will pass us by and thousands of well-paid jobs will be lost. The situation is too serious for party political profiling.”
Michael Vassiliadis, Chairman of the IGBCE: “Some people still seem not to have understood what is at stake: it is about nothing less than the future of large parts of German industry and thus our prosperity. We are in the midst of an unprecedented challenge – climate justice transformation. It must be pushed forward with massive public investment incentives, because the market alone will not do it. We are facing an era of an active state. Combining public resources with private investments must now be the order of the day. Other countries have long understood this and are already overtaking us. If we don’t invest boldly in modernization now, we will leave a run-down country to future generations.”