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Employers to sue Berlin over dole payments

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Employers to sue Berlin over dole payments
Job seekers outside the German employment office. Photo: DPA

The German employers federation (BDA) will attempt to force the government to lower the level of employer contributions to unemployment insurance, BDA president Dieter Hundt told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper.

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“Our lawyers are currently preparing to file a constitutional complaint in Karlsruhe,” Hundt told the paper. He added that the suit would be filed if the grand coalition fails to sink employer contributions by the end of August.

According to Hundt, Finance Minister Peer Steinbrück is illegally channelling money generated from BDA membership fees to recipients of unemployment benefits.

“With the membership fees. Finance Minister Steinbrück collects some 5 billion euros for the federal budget each year and uses it to pay for administrative costs and support measures for those receiving benefits. This can not be allowed,” Hundt said. “The money can and must be used to lower the unemployment insurance contribution by a further 0.6 percent.”

At the start of the year, employer contribution levels for unemployment insurance sank from 4.2 to 3.3 percent.

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