BSW on work and social affairs

The BSW wants no worker in Thuringia to earn less than 14 euros an hour. The party also wants to protect industry and cut red tape for small and mid-sized businesses. Families, employees, smaller firms and retirees should be at the center of state policy.

The BSW wants higher wages. Nobody in Thuringia should earn less than 14 euros an hour. Small and mid-sized firms should have less paperwork. Industry should be protected.

The 14-euro wage floor is one of the state party's five core demands. The program considers wages and pensions too low for too many people, and taxes and contributions too high for ordinary earners. The BSW also pledges to protect domestic industry and reduce bureaucracy for small and mid-sized firms.

The BSW wants better pay and more political recognition for people in social-sector jobs, including through state and municipal funding. This is meant to secure staff for public services and narrow the gender pay gap.

Many people work in social jobs. They often earn little. The BSW wants to pay them more. Most of these workers are women. So women and men should earn more equally.

Because the state and municipalities co-fund many of these jobs, the program sees room for action at those levels. Beyond boosting purchasing power, the upgrade is meant to narrow the gender pay gap. Municipalities should have the funds to run social policy beyond their mandatory tasks. The BSW wants to help municipalities provide homeless shelters and to support food banks, social thrift stores and charities. It also plans a pilot project for lifetime working-time accounts that allow phases of extra work and reduced hours, for example for caregiving.

The BSW wants more Thuringian employers to pay according to collective agreements and wants better wages and working conditions. In the program's view, Thuringia should stop being a low-wage state and an "extended workbench" for West German corporations.

People in Thuringia earn less than elsewhere. Often there is no union contract. Such a contract sets fair pay and vacation. The BSW wants more of these contracts. Pay and jobs should get better.

According to the program, Thuringia ranks 14th of 16 states in income and lags far behind in collective bargaining coverage. Fixed-term and chain contracts are said to be common. The BSW wants to promote science and innovation so that companies create well-paid jobs in the state. Funding policy should focus more on rural areas, and family-friendly employment, such as workplace childcare, and job training should be supported. For public administration, the BSW wants to introduce concrete target agreements on gender equality.