Total metal
Vaccination issues and home office rules lead to tension
“Those who work in production have to be there, nothing has changed for them”: Stefan Wolf. Photo: Marijan Murat / dpa
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The corona crisis divides society as well as many workforces. Overall metal boss Stefan Wolf wants to focus on dialogue instead of polarization.
Home office rules and the debates on the subject of vaccination also divide the workforce of many companies from the perspective of the employers’ association Gesamtmetall.
“The different levels of concern, for example when working from home, divides the people in the companies into a two-tier society,” said association president Stefan Wolf of the German press agency. “Those who work in production have to be there, nothing has changed for them.” Other employees, for example in administration, however, stayed at home. “That too can create tension in companies,” said Wolf.
In addition, there are the different views of the employees on the subject of vaccination. It is good that with the 3G obligation in the workplace, employers now have clarity as to which employees have been vaccinated and which are not. “It is now useless to polarize,” stressed Wolf. “We have to try to mediate and to bring this divided society and also the divided workforce, some of which we have, back together.” That only works through arguments and discussions.
For a few weeks now, employees have had to be vaccinated, tested or recovered (3G) if they want to get to the respective company premises. Wolf assumes that the nationwide vaccination quota is reflected in many companies, i.e. that around a quarter of employees are not fully vaccinated. In individual companies, the vaccination rate is higher or lower.
At least indirectly, the pandemic is also exacerbating the problems faced by many companies in finding skilled workers for important positions. “The fact that people have been working from home for 1.5 years or more has significantly reduced their willingness to change their careers and develop further,” said the association’s president. “It has become more difficult to fill positions.” Demographic change will exacerbate this problem in the years to come.
Wolf therefore once more called for an immigration law to recruit qualified specialists from abroad. In this context, it is good that the new federal government does not want any tax increases. A higher top tax rate not only scares off potential skilled workers from abroad, but also drives qualified personnel from Germany to neighboring countries.