The shorter-hours programme, known as Kurzarbeit, sees the German government cover around two-thirds of workers’ wages when their employers cut their hours to save costs. But Labour Minister Hubertus Heil, of the Social Democrats (SPD), said Friday he wants to extend it until the end of the year. “Kurzarbeit was and is our stable bridge over a deep economic valley,” Heil told the Rheinische Post. Both the reduced hours working scheme, and economic aid for struggling companies, should be extended until the end of the year, he told the newspapers of the Funke-Mediengruppe. Extending access to Kurzarbeit would be “completely premature,” German economist Lars Feld told the Rheinische Post.

Source: The Local August 06, 2021 07:41 UTC