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Could working from home and 3G in trains become compulsory in Germany?

As Covid-19 infection rates continue to rise in Germany, there are increased calls for the country to implement tougher measures with several German ministers advocating for the reintroduction of compulsory home-working and 3G rules for train travel.

A woman works from a dining table writing with a pen on a piece of paper next to a laptop.
Compulsory working from home only ended in June, but may be coming back soon. picture alliance/dpa | Finn Winkler

Infections and deaths have been climbing steeply since mid-October, in an outbreak blamed on Germany’s relatively low vaccination rate of just over 67 percent.

To curb the rising rates, German employment minister Hubertus Heil wants to re-introduce compulsory working from home, according to a draft law from the ministry that TV studio ARD-Hauptstadtstudio had sight of.

According to the draft, there are also plans for 3G rules – i.e. proof that someone is fully vaccinated, recovered from Covid-19, or has tested negative for Covid-19 – to be enforced in the workplace.

The draft law will now be discussed by the SPD, Green and FDP parliamentary groups, who are likely to make up the next coalition government.

“In the case of office work or comparable activities, the employer must make it possible for employees to carry out these activities in their home if there are no compelling operational reasons to the contrary,” the draft says. “Employees have to agree to work from home, as long as there are no reasons to the contrary.”

According to popular German daily Bild, the three parties have been discussing the draft law since the weekend, however, the pro-free market FDP’s position is still unclear.

In terms of what the law says on introducing 3G in the workplace, employers would not have to provide tests. This means that unvaccinated employees would have to take care of getting a certified rapid Covid-19 test themselves each day.

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Joint head of Germany’s Green party Robert Habeck was also in favour of increased working from home: “”The situation in Germany is extremely dramatic,” he told the newspapers of the Funke Mediengruppe, which includes the Berliner Morgenpost.

“If we don’t break the fourth wave quickly, the hospital system is at risk of collapse in December,” he warned.

The previous obligation to work from home – part of the so-called emergency brake law – expired at the end of June.

Since then, companies have still had to maintain Covid-19 measures in the workplace and offer two tests per week.

Habeck also called for the 3G rule to apply to train travel. If this were to be brought in, anyone travelling on a train would need to be vaccinated, recovered or test negative for Covid-19.

“Yes, train travel must be safer, too. From my perspective, 3G should apply here, we will have to talk about that,” he said.

SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach was also in favour: “3G should also apply in trains. In this Covid-19 situation, it’s irresponsible that unvaccinated and untested people are sitting close to other passengers for hours on full long-distance trains,” he told Bild am Sonntag.

READ ALSO: EXPLAINED: The latest Covid rules across Germany’s states

And Habeck didn’t rule out the introduction of restrictions for those who weren’t vaccinated, explaining that it may be necessary to limit contacts for unvaccinated people in some regions, Bild reported.

The below chart from the RKI Covid-19 dashboard shows the least and worst-affected parts of Germany, with purple representing the areas with the highest number of cases per 100,000 people over the last seven-day period, followed by pink, then the darkest red.

He urged the population to get vaccinated and also spoke in favour of partial compulsory vaccination:

Habeck also called on the population to vaccinate and spoke out in favour of partial compulsory vaccination: “With all due respect for individual decisions, I urgently appeal to everyone to review their decisions again and reconsider,” he said.

In addition, the Green head campaigned for mandatory vaccination in some areas. “I also think that compulsory vaccination is useful for certain professional groups.”

 

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GERMAN CITIZENSHIP

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

Foreigners in Germany are waiting on tenterhooks for the introduction of the new dual nationality law on Thursday - but the centre-right CDU and CSU say they would overturn the reform if re-elected next year.

German conservatives vow to overturn dual citizenship if re-elected

“The CDU and CSU will reverse this unsuccessful reform,” Alexander Throm (CDU), spokesperson on domestic policy for the CDU/CSU parliamentary group, told DPA on Tuesday.

“Dual citizenship must remain the exception and be limited to countries that share our values.”

Throm also criticised the new citizenship law for reducing the amount of time foreigners need to live in the country before naturalising as Germans, describing the new residence requirements as “far too short”.

“After five or even three years, it is not yet possible to determine with certainty whether integration has been successful in the long term,” he stated.

“The recent caliphate demonstrations and the rampant Islamist extremism, often by people with German passports, must be a wake-up call for us all.”

READ ALSO: Which foreign residents are likely to become German after citizenship law change?

Despite vociferous opposition, the alliance between the Christian Democrats (CDU) and their Bavarian sister party (CSU) was powerless to stop the traffic-light coalition’s citizenship reform passing in both the Bundestag and Bundesrat earlier this year. 

The reform, which permits the holding of multiple passports, lowers residence requirements and removes language hurdles for certain groups, is set to come into force on June 27th. 

But with the CDU and CSU emerging as clear winners in the recent EU parliamentary elections and regularly landing on 30 percent or above in the polls, it’s possible that the party could be on course to re-enter government next year. 

In this situation, the centre-right parties have pledged to try and undo what senior CDU politicians have described as a “dangerous” reform.

“It is not unusual for successive governments to reverse decisions made by the previous government,” Andrea Lindholz, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group said in a recent response to a question

“We will maintain our position on this and will continue to strive for a corresponding change.”

READ ALSO: What are citizenship offices around Germany doing to prepare for the new law?

Whether the CDU and CSU can secure enough votes at both state and federal elections to change the law in the future remains to be seen.

The parties may also have to compromise on their plans with any future coalition partner, such as the Greens, Social Democrats (SPD) or Free Democrats (FDP), all of whom support liberal immigration laws and the holding of multiple nationalities. 

‘Citizenship devaluation law’

The CDU and CSU parties, which form a centre-right alliance nicknamed the Union, have long been opposed to dual nationality in Germany.

During their years of governing in a so-called grand coalition with the centre-right Social Democrats (SPD), the parties had regularly made reforms of citizenship one of their red lines, citing the danger of hostile nations influencing Germany from within. 

In a recent parliamentary speech back in January, Throm had slammed the bill as a “citizenship devaluation law” and accused the government of trying to generate a new electorate to win votes.

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag

CDU politician Alexander Throm speaks in a debate in the German Bundestag. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

In comments aimed primarily at Germany’s large Turkish diaspora, the CDU politician claimed that people who had lived in Germany for decades but not taken German citizenship had already chosen their old country over Germany.

The majority of Turks in Germany are also supporters of the authoritarian president Recep Erdogan, he argued.

Responding to the claims, FDP migration expert Ann-Veruschka Jurisch said the opposition was fuelling resentments against migrants by claiming the government was “squandering German citizenship”.

In fact, she argued, the reform has tightened up requirements by ensuring that people who claim benefits and cannot support themselves are unable to become German citizens.

READ ALSO: What you need to know about Germany’s citizenship law reform

In addition, the B1 language requirements have only been softened in a few exceptional cases, for example to honour the lifetime achievements of the guest worker generation who had few opportunities when they arrived, Jurisch said. 

If foreigners have committed crimes, the authorities will be able to investigate whether these involved racist or anti-Semitic motives before citizenship is granted, she added. 

With reporting by DPA

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