Germany: in deindustrialized regions, poverty plagues the population
Audio 02:30
The Marxloh district in Duisburg is surrounded by blast furnaces.
Until the 1970s, the population benefited from the prosperity of the steel industry and well-paying jobs.
© AFP / Oliver Berg
By: Anastasia Becchio
5 mins
The leading economic power in the euro zone is about to turn the page Angela Merkel.
The Chancellor leaves a country where the poverty rate has reached its highest level since reunification.
More than 13 million Germans are affected, in the east but also in the west, in deindustrialised regions such as the Ruhr.
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From our special correspondent in Duisburg,
It's cleaning time in the refectory of the Herbert Grillo school in the Marxloh district.
Black, gray and orange plastic chairs are stacked on the tables.
Rag in hand, Klaus Kumbholz ends his working day.
Auxiliary of a school canteen, he receives a small salary which forces him to count every penny, but it is especially for his retirement, in ten years, that he is worried.
“
If I'm lucky, I'll get
1,000 euros, but it could be only 800.
I started working when I was 16
.
I
've been working for
41 years. There are a lot of retirees here who have to collect returnable bottles to earn a few tens of cents,
”Klaus said, before continuing:“
Our future is not secure.
We may have to do the round one day.
Every German who works should be able to continue to live with dignity after retirement and not have to collect returnable bottles!
Germany is rich!
"
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A district that has transformed with deindustrialisation
About twenty minutes by tram from the center of Duisburg, the Marxloh district is surrounded by blast furnaces. Until the 1970s, the population benefited from the prosperity of the steel industry and well-paying jobs. But with deindustrialisation, Marxloh has changed, notes Thomas Mielke, who works for the social integration association Rundertisch.
“
In the region we have a big employer, Thyssen Krup, but there aren't as many jobs anymore as when I was growing up.
At the time, all of our neighbors were working there.
Today, many families no longer have a job, they have to live on benefits, which does not make life easy,
”he notes.
And to add: “
In our association, when we organize cooking workshops for teenagers, for example, we ask for a small contribution of 3
euros to buy the products because we cannot pay for everything out of our pocket, but we realize that some cannot even afford it.
"
► See also: In Germany, family policy under Merkel
A polarized society
In general, the poverty rate has increased in recent years, notes the sociologist close to the left-wing Die Linke party, Christoph Butterwegge: “
The Merkel government has done nothing to reduce poverty.
On the contrary, today we have reached a record: poverty affects 15.9% of the German population, the highest rate ever recorded since 2005, since Angela Merkel came to power.
"
“
Government policy has contributed to the polarization of society.
There has been a deregulation of the labor market, the liberalization of temporary work, precarious jobs, what are called minijobs, where one earns little money,
”argues the sociologist.
Among the avenues to reduce the social divide, the Social Democratic Party proposes, in its program, to raise the minimum wage from 9.60 euros to 12 euros.
► To consult: our dossier Merkel Era, end clap, and the long format The Merkel years
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Germany
Poverty
Angela Merkel