Local Members of the Bundestag should show "pension backbone" | IG BAU: Adjust pensions to the "hardness of work": Only 130 construction workers in the Saarlouis district are over 63 When the job has long been too hard and retirement still too far away: Of the approximately 2,080 construction workers in the Saarlouis district, according to current data from the employment agency, only around 130 employees are older than 63 years. "Whether bricklayers, roofers, sewage or road builders: They perform hard physical labor. And that in all weathers – in heat and frost," says Ute Langenbahn of the Industrial Union of Construction, Agriculture and Environment (IG BAU). The chairwoman of IG BAU Saar-Trier sees a critical age limit: "For most, it's already over before they turn 60. They simply can no longer handle the physical demands of construction work," says Ute Langenbahn.
[advertisement placement="medium_rectangle" align="left"]For IG BAU Saar-Trier it is clear: "Hardly anyone manages to work in construction until 67 at www.igbau.de. If it is supposed to go even longer soon: no chance," says Ute Langenbahn. The union representative criticizes the plans of the pension commission that the federal government intends to implement. "What is missing is the flexible pension. That is, the chance for reasonable transitions from working life to retirement for all sectors where employees simply reach their physical limits earlier due to their job. A fair pension must absolutely be adjusted to the 'severity of the work' performed," says Ute Langenbahn and demands an "express access to regular retirement" for those affected.
This applies to the construction industry, but also to agriculture and forestry, building cleaning, and landscaping. The IG BAU appeals to the local members of the Bundestag in the Saarlouis district and the region to show "pension backbone" and to "urgently correct" the federal government's plans. Otherwise, many professions in which hard work is done will increasingly lose their attractiveness.
Another point of criticism from the union: the abolition of retirement at 63. “That would be a slap in the face, especially for many baby boomers. It would seriously disrupt their life plans,” says Ute Langenbahn. Many are affected: In the Saarlouis district, there are 34,800 baby boomers who will retire in the next ten years, according to IG BAU Saar-Trier. The union refers to calculations by the Pestel Institute.
The focus of criticism from IG BAU Saar-Trier is also on the pension level. This concerns another important point from the 33 proposals put forward by the pension commission: there is a lack of a guaranteed safeguard for the pension level. This is especially important for the upcoming generation of retirees: "The state must not impose a reduction of the pension level below 48 percent on the baby boomers from 2031 onwards. Pension policy must also demonstrate responsibility here: pensions are a matter of political trust," said Ute Langenbahn.
The federal government urgently needs to clarify that there is no decline in the pension level – not even in the transition to the funded supplementary pension. “In principle, the pension level must quickly return to at least 53 percent,” says IG BAU district head Ute Langenbahn. The IG BAU Saar-Trier also demands that local members of the Bundestag now strongly advocate for this within their parliamentary groups in Berlin.
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