"Like oil on fire" - trade reacts to Bas' Juso speech

Statements by Federal Minister of Labor and SPD leader Bärbel Bas at the national congress of the Jusos have been met with clear criticism from the Saxon economy. "It is more than strange when a Federal Minister of Labor chooses such words," said Uwe Nostitz, President of the Saxon Construction Industry Association and also President of the Saxon Trade Association.

Labor Minister Bas had reported on her appearance at the Employers' Day at the federal congress of the Jusos at the weekend and said that it had become "particularly clear to her (...) who we actually have to fight together". She had been asked there how much social security Germany still wanted to afford.

"The gentlemen in tailor-made suits": Bas polarizes with statements

"There they sat, I'll say this quite openly now, the gentlemen - yes, mostly men - in their comfortable armchairs, one or the other in a tailored suit, and the rejection was clearly noticeable," said Bas. This situation showed her "where the lines really run in this country". Namely "between rich and poor, between those who need security and those who consider it negotiable", said Bas.

Nostitz accused the minister of opening up rifts with such statements. "Such provocative statements do not help in the current tense economic situation," he said. Employers and employees have been working side by side in companies for decades. "No one is fighting against anyone. They build, train and share responsibility." The minister's words acted "like oil on the fire of an already insecure society".

Invitation to Saxony

The construction industry association and the Handwerkstag invited Bas to visit companies in Saxony. There she will see "that these contrasts simply do not exist", said Nostitz.