Berlin.
The SPD boss says how she wants to guide more skilled workers to Germany – and why so many people are retiring early.
There is a shortage of qualified workers in Germany – everyone agrees on that. But there is disagreement about the solution. SPD leader Saskia Esken makes an unusual move in an interview with our editors.
What comes first: qualification of local skilled workers or immigration of foreign skilled workers?
Saskia Esken: It has to be a mix of both. We must not let any talent go unused in Germany, so we must ensure good and fair education and better employment opportunities for mothers, for older people and for the low-skilled. But even if we succeed in all of this, we will not be able to cover the need for specialists and workers on this alone. When my generation, the boomer generation, retires, there really is a problem. We must therefore increase immigration – and ensure that integration succeeds.
The traffic light wants to allow skilled workers to enter the country without an employment contract. Is it wise to just open the gates wider?
Esken: Germany is a country of immigration, but far too few stay here. In 2021, almost 750,000 foreigners left Germany again. If we are to tackle the skills shortage, we must learn from the experiences of successful countries like Canada. In this respect, we need immigration even without an employment contract, we have to promote qualifications in the country of origin and create opportunities to come to Germany for training, as is already common in nursing.
Is that a majority? For a new law on the immigration of skilled workers, you need the approval of the Federal Council.
Esken: Immigration is in Germany’s vital interest, among other things to secure our business location. I am sure that political common sense will prevail and the doubters will be in the minority. And I trust that the debate about it will be respectful.
Freedom of movement applies to employees in the EU. Why don’t you make better use of this potential? You could make Germany more attractive by removing bureaucratic hurdles, for example in the recognition of professional qualifications.
Esken: Around two thirds of the people who immigrated to Germany in 2021 came from the EU. When it comes to recognizing professional skills and qualifications, however, we are indeed too bureaucratic. If we want integration to succeed in the long term, then we have to do it.
You could also create incentives with lower taxes. Finance Minister Lindner has now brought a reduction in income tax into play …
Esken: The last three years in particular – with a global pandemic and the Russian war of aggression and its catastrophic consequences – have shown us that we need an active state that can provide support in the event of a crisis and help shape upheavals. Most recently, we massively raised the minimum wage, reduced social security contributions for those on low incomes and reduced taxes for middle- and high-income earners. In this way, we have ensured that everyone has more net income on the bottom line and is better able to cope with inflation. I am convinced that the very high incomes would not have needed this relief. If we look at the tasks that lie ahead of us with educational equity, digitization, the climate-neutral conversion of how we do business and live, then I think that the very high incomes and assets should contribute more to this.
What’s your plan? How do you want to make Germany more attractive?
Esken: Germany is a very attractive country. But especially in extreme shortage occupations such as care, we must improve working conditions and pay and significantly increase collective bargaining coverage. And I’ll say it very clearly: we need an improved welcoming culture. We’re talking about immigration of skilled workers, but people are coming. We must change from an immigration society to an integration society.
They come up with the old buzzwords.
Esken: The success of the integration is a very important lever! The people who come to us should find us, as a labor market and as a society, receptive. They are not just looking for work, but a home for themselves and their families. So the aim of our integration efforts must be the family as a whole. What is crucial is what day-care centers and schools contribute to this. The current IQB education trend…
… this is a study by the Berlin institute for quality development in education …
Esken: … has revealed something frightening: A quarter of the children do not acquire the necessary basic skills in primary school to successfully attend a secondary school and acquire a vocational qualification. That’s unfair, but it’s also economic madness. Educational opportunities in Germany still depend too much on the parental home. Even in second and third generations, immigrant children are at a disadvantage, as are the children of poor parents, which often coincides. That is unworthy for a country like Germany. We therefore need better equipped daycare centers and schools with more all-day operations – to strengthen language skills and for the best possible support for all children. The project of the traffic light to facilitate naturalization is particularly controversial. So far, foreigners have had to have lived in Germany for eight years before they can become Germans. You want to shorten this period to five years, in exceptional cases even to three.
Why should the German passport suddenly be at the beginning and no longer at the end of integration?
Esken: Citizenship is neither the beginning nor the end, but an essential part of integration. But let me say something more fundamental about integration: It is often said that people should “integrate with us”. But our language is much smarter. It doesn’t mean “to integrate” but “to integrate someone” because integration is much more an achievement of society than that of the individual.
Is that why you are so generous with the German passport because you shift the responsibility for successful integration onto society?
Esken: Of course, the individual must be willing to become part of our society. But we as a society must also be open to accepting people and supporting them to the best of our ability in their integration. Classic immigration countries like Canada do this – also with a quick granting of citizenship. We compete for the best minds.
Why is the SPD opposed to extending the working life? Retirement at 70 could take the edge off the skills shortage.
Esken: Reality contradicts this: older unemployed people hardly have a chance on the labor market – they are not even invited to an interview, let alone employed. Companies should not only fill their teams with young people who have fresh ideas, but also give older people space and appreciation for their experience of life and work. But I also want to make it very clear that for those who, after decades of hard work, are no longer able to work, a further increase in the statutory retirement age would be nothing more than a pension reduction. This has nothing to do with respect for the work done.
In fact, the retirement age is still a long way from 67. Last year – as the Federal Institute for Population Research calculated – every third person retired at the age of 63 or 64 …
Esken: The statutory retirement age is not yet 67. It is currently rising and will soon be 66, and 64 for those who have been insured for particularly long years. The fact that employees retire earlier indicates that their experience is not valued in the companies and that there is no willingness to respond to the needs of older employees. It is very unfortunate that the economy tends to sideline older people. The situation is similar for mothers of small children or people with disabilities. If we want to overcome the shortage of skilled workers, we have to use all talents.
Isn’t the trend towards early retirement more related to the possibility of retiring at 63 with no deductions? The boss of the economy, Monika Schnitzer, therefore calls for the abolition of the pension at 63.
Esken: Employees who have 45 or more years of insurance have the option of an early pension without deductions of two years. They deserve it and the SPD won’t shake that. The problem is not people retiring early, but a labor market that is not open to those who would like to work longer.
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