SPD Left Wing Accuses Coalition of “Class Struggle From Above” as Labor Package Deepens Internal Rifts

Social Democrat parliamentarians are locked in open conflict with their own leadership over the latest coalition agreements, with the left-leaning DL21 faction branding the entire package an attack on workers. In a strongly worded statement, the group accused business associations and the CDU/CSU of using economic difficulties as a pretext for welfare cuts, describing the plans as carrying “authoritarian traits.”

At the heart of the criticism are three flashpoints: the extension of fixed-term contracts without objective grounds by up to 48 months, the planned abolition of telephone sick notes, and the introduction of a mandatory medical certificate from the first day of illness. Though the DL21 did welcome the agreed increase in the wealth tax for high earners as a step in the right direction, it dismissed the measure as “completely insufficient” to offset the social hardships caused by the rest of the package.

Chancellor Merz has justified the tightening of sick-leave rules by pointing to a need to lower Germany’s rising sickness absence rate. But doctors’ representatives project a very different outcome. The National Association of Statutory Health Insurance Physicians (KBV) estimates that forcing employees to obtain an in-person certificate from day one would generate at least 30 million extra practice visits per year — a flood of appointments that risks overwhelming outpatient clinics.

Even within the conservative camp, discontent is brewing. Christian Bäumler, deputy chairman of the CDU’s worker-affiliated CDA wing, has publicly demanded that the sick-note measures be dropped, citing “considerable unease” among the public. SPD General Secretary Klüssendorf, meanwhile, has urged the greatest possible flexibility in how the rules are actually implemented.

A second front has opened over the Freedom of Information Act (IFG). The interior ministry, led by Minister Dobrindt, wants to restrict the law’s scope to natural persons, which would effectively exclude non-governmental organisations and media outlets from information rights. The SPD parliamentary group has already vowed to fight the change, arguing instead for a full digital overhaul of access rights. Civil society has mobilised in support: more than 100 organisations and over 400,000 petitioners are demanding the IFG reform be halted altogether.

Labour unions are sending mixed signals. IG Metall chairwoman Christiane Benner condemned the coalition’s plan as an “antisocial wish list from the employer side.” DGB chairwoman Yasmin Fahimi, by contrast, expressed qualified approval for parts of the agreement.

Beyond the workplace rules, the package also includes a plan to combat abuse of social benefits and a set of red-tape reductions — such as exempting small and medium-sized enterprises from certain GDPR requirements. The Left Party has joined the SPD left in condemning the broader direction and announced parliamentary resistance.

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