Three years after having launched a ‘national dialogue’ on the future of work in the digital age, and having published both a Green Paper and a ‘White Paper on Work 4.0’, Minister for Employment and Social Affairs, Andrea Nahles (SPD) is now intent on advancing to the next stage of putting what has been learnt thus far into place. On 14 June in Berlin at the ‘Workshop-debate on Work 4.0’ the Minister ‘cut the ribbon’ to open the business ‘apprenticeship and experimental forum’ that is dedicated to developing innovative ways of working. The Minister also used the event to launch an Internet platform that will enable companies and administrative authorities that have implemented ‘experimental forums’ to exchange information on their separate experiences. The same day Ms. Nahles announced the abandonment of her draft law on ‘chosen working time’, which would have allowed for a trial period of two years companies to derogate from the law on working time.
‘A learning oriented labor policy’. Bosch, Deutsche Bahn, Microsoft…. already have one and the Labor Minister would like more in the future. During the ‘Workshop-debate on Work 4.0’ Andrea Nahles signaled that several companies had already put ‘apprenticeship and experimental innovative ways of working’ in place and that she intended to encourage others to follow their example.
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