Everyone agrees on one point: workers are wanted, almost everywhere, whether at the bakery, in the construction company, in day-care centers, in nursing or in IT companies. The form in which immigration can help is a subject of heated political debate. This became clear once again in the Bundestag during the first deliberation of a law planned by the traffic light government to facilitate the immigration of workers. Union and AfD warned against lowering the immigration hurdles. Backing for the traffic light, on the other hand, came from business.

At the end of last year there were around two million job vacancies in Germany, which was the highest value ever measured, said Interior Minister Nancy Faeser at the start of the debate. Like her cabinet colleague, Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD), the SPD politician campaigned for the traffic light plans. This creates “one of the most modern immigration laws in the world,” she said.

Heil warned that there could be a shortage of seven million workers in the country by 2035. Speakers from the FDP and the Greens emphasized that domestic resources would not be able to meet the labor requirements. Germany needs a welcoming culture and must be an attractive country. “We can’t find anyone anymore, from the Bavarian economy to the high-tech start-up in Berlin,” said Lukas Koehler, Vice President of the FDP. There is no shortage of skilled workers, but rather a shortage of workers.

Introduction of a chance card

Among other things, the coalition wants to introduce a so-called opportunity card with its law. Whoever receives the card in order to be able to look for a job in Germany is determined using a points system. The criteria include language skills, professional experience, age and connection to Germany. The requirements for a stay in order to look for a training position are also to be “significantly lowered”, salary thresholds for taking up work are to be lowered and university graduates are to be made easier to change jobs and family reunification. After the first debate in the Bundestag, the proposed legislation will now continue to be discussed in the committees.

Union and AfD opposed the plans: “We want to be more inviting for the qualified people we need. You want to invite those who are not qualified, that’s the difference,” said CDU politician Hermann Gröhe. His parliamentary colleague Alexander Throm (CDU) warned against immigration of “less qualified people”. AfD MP Gerrit Huy said there were already many immigrant young people in the country who were able to work. Germany is not attractive as a job, but as a social welfare office, added her AfD colleague Götz Frömming.

Traffic light speakers sharply rejected the statements made by the Union and AfD. The Union is trying to prevent immigration and is behaving in a way that is harmful to the economy.

Backing for traffic light plans

Business itself backed the traffic light plans: “The draft law is finally an important welcome signal,” but it could only be a first step, said employers’ president Rainer Dulger. “We have to get interested workers from abroad out of the skilled workers’ waiting room where they’ve been sitting for ages.” Dulger also called for using the “domestic potential” and called for more childcare, more flexible working hours, better training and further education opportunities and an end to retirement at 63.

From the point of view of the Association of Machine and Plant Builders VDMA, the plans for immigration of workers do not go far enough. The comparability of foreign professional qualifications is still overrated and the required language skills are still exaggerated, said VDMA General Manager Thilo Brodtmann. He called for the possibility of recruiting skilled workers abroad for temporary work. This is still forbidden.