Press Release No. 16/2017 IG Metall Calls for Fixed-Term Part-Time Work and the Right to Return to Full-Time Work

Frankfurt am Main – IG Metall has called on the CDU/CSU coalition parties to abandon their obstructionist stance on further developing the Part-Time and Fixed-Term Employment Act. “Modern part-time work legislation is long overdue. Anyone who reduces their working hours to raise children or care for relatives must be able to be certain that this will not lead to long-term professional and economic disadvantages,” said Christiane Benner, Second Chair of IG Metall, on Tuesday in Frankfurt.

Ahead of Wednesday’s coalition committee meeting, the union leader is calling on the CDU/CSU to adhere to the coalition agreement and clear the way for modern family and working time policies. This would enable women in particular to escape the “part-time trap,” as over 80 percent of the 10.3 million part-time workers in Germany are women. “The Union must finally show its true colors. Those who lament the shortage of skilled workers in their Sunday speeches cannot at the same time stand idly by and watch as more and more workers get stuck in the part-time trap,” Benner emphasized. She added that such policies cement the disadvantages many women face in terms of income, career prospects, and social security.