SPD on work and social affairs

The SPD wants to amend Hesse's Tariftreue- und Vergabegesetz (law on collective-wage compliance in public procurement) and introduce a separate minimum wage for public contracts. Public contracts and business subsidies would be tied more closely to collective bargaining coverage and worker co-determination. The program argues that the state has a special responsibility as a buyer.

The SPD wants to change the law on public contracts. Companies that work for the state should pay union-agreed wages. There should be a special minimum wage for these contracts. The state should check the rules more closely. Companies with good working conditions should get extra support money.

The procurement minimum wage would be based on the lowest pay grade of the state's collective agreement that is actually in use. The SPD wants more effective checks, limits on subcontractor chains and tough penalties for violations. Collective bargaining coverage, social partnership, training and inclusion would be conditions for bidding on contracts from the state and municipalities. Companies meeting good-work criteria would get a bonus in business subsidies. All subsidy programs would be aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

The SPD wants to make Hesse the leading German state for continuing education. Workers should be able to gain new qualifications while employed, and the party backs a legal entitlement to this. The program justifies this with the rapid change in job profiles.

The world of work is changing fast. So the SPD wants to support more job training. People should get a right to further training. Hesse should become the best state for this.

The program wants to fund further training and qualification while people are still working. It supports a legal entitlement to qualification and continuing education. Workers, job seekers and companies are to receive help from the state. People who choose a new vocational training late in their careers are to be supported. The SPD also wants to make it easier for university dropouts to move into vocational training.

The SPD wants to strengthen Bildungsurlaub (paid educational leave) in Hesse and develop it into a "Bildungszeit" with a legal entitlement for everyone. More people should use it, including for job qualification as the world of work changes. Political education is to be strengthened as well.

Workers can take time off for training. This is called educational leave. The SPD wants to expand it. Everyone should have a right to it. More people should use this offer.

Educational leave is to become a "Bildungszeit" that everyone is legally entitled to and that allows for job-related qualification. The range of courses is to be expanded. The SPD wants to raise acceptance among employers so that more workers actually take their statutory leave. Providers are to receive funding so they can offer inclusive courses or childcare. Leave for political education is to be strengthened to the same degree as leave for job training.

The SPD wants to create a vocational training guarantee financed by a levy. A Hesse training fund is meant mainly to support young people up to age 35 and to relieve small companies that train apprentices. A state program called "Jugend in Arbeit" and more youth employment agencies are also planned.

The SPD wants a training guarantee. Everyone should be able to do job training. Companies pay into a shared fund for this. Small companies that train people get help from the fund. Young people get more advice when they start working.

All citizens are to get an entitlement to vocational qualification. The Hesse training fund is to support small companies that offer apprenticeships; dual in-company training is preferred, but places outside companies are also to be used to meet the guarantee. A state program, "Jugend in Arbeit" (youth in work), is to ease the move from school into working life. Youth employment agencies are to be expanded statewide, including in rural areas. Young people without a school or vocational degree are to get more individual support. The SPD also wants to strengthen tuition-free training and create more flexible training models.

The SPD wants to stop funding social services in Hesse mainly through short-term projects and instead rely on statutory rules and a redesigned social budget. Municipalities are to receive the money they need for this. The program says this is how comparable living conditions can be achieved across the state.

The SPD wants to pay for social services in a lasting way. Today, many services are short projects. In the future, laws should secure them. Cities and towns should get more money for this.

Project grants are to become the exception and statutory solutions the rule. The social budget is to be redesigned, adequately funded and indexed so that it grows regularly. Public subsidies to social service providers are to cover wage agreements and rising costs and ensure good working conditions. The SPD also plans a single strategy against the effects of loneliness that covers housing policy, urban planning, community work and health.

The SPD wants to halve poverty in Hesse within five years, working with the federal government and municipalities. It plans an action plan spanning all ministries that focuses on prevention. The program points out that the poverty rate in Hesse is above the national average.

The SPD wants to cut poverty in Hesse in half. This should happen within five years. There will be a plan against poverty. All ministries should work on it.

A report on poverty and wealth is to be reintroduced to make inequality visible and derive measures from it. In the state government, the SPD wants to support the introduction of a Kindergrundsicherung (basic child allowance). A state-level emergency fund is planned for people whose electricity or energy supply is cut off. Social service providers are to get state money to cope with rising costs. For digital inclusion, centers with free access to computers, printers and Wi-Fi are planned, while public services are to remain available offline, barrier-free and in several languages.

The SPD wants to promote the self-determination and social participation of older people and counter loneliness in old age. Senior citizens' councils are to be required by law so that every municipality has one. The plan also includes support for mobility, age-appropriate housing and digital services.

The SPD wants older people to have more of a say. Every town should get a seniors' council. This is a group that speaks for older people. There should also be help against loneliness in old age.

Where no council is formed, older residents are to elect volunteer representatives. Plans include seniors' offices, local networks and a roundtable on preventing violence against older people and people in need of care. In rural areas, public transit is to be linked with on-demand services. Housing advice for barrier-free remodeling is to be strengthened regardless of age or care level, with the building code adjusted accordingly. Leisure, cultural and educational offerings as well as day care for the elderly are to be free, and care homes are to get devices and internet access; at the same time, living without digital tools is to remain possible.

The SPD wants to pay public-sector employees better and give them more opportunities to advance. Hesse is to rejoin the joint wage bargaining association of the German states. A new staff representation law is to expand employees' say.

The SPD wants to pay government workers better. Today Hesse negotiates wages on its own. In the future Hesse should negotiate together with the other states again. Workers should also have more say at work.

The platform justifies these plans with the shortage of skilled workers, which also affects public administration. Besides good pay, better career development is meant to make government jobs more attractive. When rejoining the bargaining association, arrangements specific to Hesse are to be kept. A modern staff representation law is meant to give employees what the SPD calls real co-determination.