Master craftsman Ziesecke: Bureaucratic madness endangers small businesses!

Master craftsman Ziesecke: Bureaucratic madness endangers small businesses!

In Falkensee, in Havelland, 58-year-old Michael Ziesecke, master metalworker and owner of a small business, speaks seriously about the bureaucracy in the trade. The master craftsman, who employs five people in his family business, has come to know a variety of regulations over the years that he found stressful. In a conversation with maz-online.de Ziesecke criticizes the fact that small businesses like his own are often treated like large companies. A multitude of regulations, from daily checks of his employees' driving licenses to specific safety measures for everyday activities, make it difficult for him to keep the focus on what's important.

For example, he calls for the use of respiratory masks when changing toner and fireproof pads for coffee machines - regulations that he considers excessive. Although Ziesecke sees the importance of occupational safety and health protection, he would like to see more personal responsibility and less official intervention. “If we work together, we don't have to be treated like children,” he says, adding that unnecessary signs illustrating obvious safety measures create unnecessary costs.

Reducing bureaucracy as a future project

From January 1, 2026, Ziesecke would like to take on a new role: He will become managing director of the Havelland district crafts association and has already announced that he will focus on reducing bureaucracy. “After 123 years of family business, it’s time for a change,” said the master metalworker, who hopes to make a difference. Many of his colleagues, especially in small companies, feel overwhelmed by bureaucracy. In Germany they are loud tagesschau.de Around 10,000 occupational safety regulations have to be observed, which represents a considerable burden for companies.

Annegret Vogelsang-Foley, managing director of a craft business with 25 employees, describes similar experiences. She reports frequent hand injuries and emphasizes that the effort is constantly increasing due to extensive safety regulations. Weekly training and extensive documentation requirements cost time and money, while efficiency suffers. After all, there are hundreds of thousands of security officers overseeing these regulations, which is particularly difficult for small businesses.

An outlook on industrial accidents and reforms

Despite the strict regulations, the figures show that the number of work accidents in Germany is declining. Around 750,000 accidents occurred in 2024, which corresponds to 21 accidents per 1,000 employees - a third less than 20 years ago and below the EU average. This could also be related to structural changes in the world of work. Looking ahead, Anke Kahl from the University of Wuppertal emphasizes that work-related illnesses should also be included in the debate about occupational safety. Digital training and the use of artificial intelligence to create security plans could be standardized within the next few years.

The current political agenda, which is anchored in the coalition agreement between the Union and the SPD, already provides for measures to simplify and reduce bureaucracy, which are planned for 2025. But the road there seems rocky, as the experiences of Ziesecke and his colleagues show. “We need a change that takes occupational safety seriously, but also remains practical,” said the master metalworker.

While the discussion about bureaucracy and security in the trades is becoming more and more intense in Falkensee, Ziesecke's new role as a designer could perhaps be the right step in the right direction.