Policies

Policy positions of the People's Republic of Nordheim are dictated by the Communist Party, as they are currently in control of all instruments of government. The following list will feature policy areas, and the official party platform of the Communist Party. Some policy areas will also refer specifically to the ministry they are subject to.

Also note that this list is not by any means exhaustive, and some policies may be grouped together under inaccurately named categories for sake of simplicity.

Education
The Communist Party believes that everyone is entitled to an exceptional public education. All schooling from the moment of birth to the moment of death is free and accessible for all Nordheimers, including all post-secondary education. Every Nordheimer has a right to learn. All independent schools and universities are outlawed, as they are tools of the capitalist and religious elites. Nationwide schooling is required until the graduation of high school. Youth are thoroughly encouraged to continue to university or trade schools for further education, but this is not necessary.

The official practice of religion is prohibited in all educational institutions of Nordheim, however each place of learning must make accommodations for each student's religious needs. Additionally, universal counseling and psychological services is available at each institution. Mandatory curriculum includes language (German) classes, MINT (Mathematics, Information Technology, Natural Sciences & Technology), creative courses (Music, Art, etc) and history/civics classes through the end of secondary education. Additionally, an additional class specifically regarding the Communist Party and its endeavors and successes must be taken in conjunction with these classes through secondary school. Also, sexual education is a additional required class for secondary school. For secondary and post secondary educational institutions, items such as contraceptives & menstrual items are free and are able to be given out discreetly. All places of learning are required to have gender-neutral bathrooms.

Learning Disabilities
Individuals who have learning disabilities are able to attend special schools that are tailored specifically to people with learning disabilties, staffed with individuals who are trained and certified in these areas. These people are also able to take a different educational timetable and are given an extremely flexible environment to suit their needs.

All education policy is dictated by the People's Ministry for Technology, Education, & Youth.

European Union
The European Union is an organization built by and for the markets. While the Communist Party realizes this, we believe that the European Union can be reformed in order to bring about communist principles throughout Europe. We advocate for continued membership in the organization, but will fight any austerity measures passed, and will aggressively fight for socialist ideals in parliament. We refuse to acknowledge or follow any legislation that seeks to inject the poison that is capitalism back into our country.

All EU policy is dictated by the People's Ministry for the Exterior.

Environmental
The Communist Party recognizes the major threat that is climate change, and aims to do as much as it can to prevent ecological disaster. The Party pledges to have Nordheim fully renewable by 2025. The goal is to source at least 75% of energy needs from nuclear energy, with the remaining 25% being a combination of wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, etc. As of 2021, 85% of Nordheim's renewable energy comes form nuclear energy, and is projected to be 90% by 2025. 95% of total energy currently comes from green sources. Nuclear waste is reprocessed into usable fuel. All automobiles are required to be electrically powered by 2025, and the energy needed to fuel these electric vehicles must be 100% renewable. All public transit must also be fueled by renewable and green sources. No dumping of waste of any kind is allowed anywhere in Nordheim. For every tree cut down, two more are planted in Nordheim, but all construction projects must build in treeless areas first, before cutting down any forests. All new construction projects in the country must be of climate friendly designs, and all buildings must be rehabbed to be sustainable by 2030. All public lighting must be switched to sustainable by 2025. All public lighting must be in accordance with new light pollution measures, which seeks to reduce light pollution in cities.

All environment policy is dictated by the People's Ministry for Energy, Environment, & Atomics.

Healthcare
All Nordheimers have a right to a healthy life. All prescription drugs are available for free. All healthcare, including dental and vision, are also free. All private insurance has been outlawed. Additionally, all deathcare is also covered by the government of Nordheim. In conjunction with healthcare, other benefits such paid maternity & paternity leave are given to all eligible citizens.

COVID-19
With the outbreak of COVID-19 throughout Europe, as of February 2020, the People's Republic of Nordheim is restricting all travel to and from the country. No one is allowed to enter or leave unless on extraordinary circumstances as dictated by the People's Ministry of Health. A mandatory lockdown was present at the beginning of the pandemic but has since been lifted. This initial lockdown involved requiring people to stay home, and a government run service would bring any essential items to the home if needed. As Nordheim is an island country and the borders had been locked down, COVID-19 did not spread initially to Nordheim, and life was normal for a few months. However, COVID eventually entered the country, and the nation entered a second lockdown in the summer of 2020. The nation employed the People's Ministry for State Integrity to contact trace individuals and also employed large scale mandatory testing in affected communities, slowing spread.

With these stringent measures in place, Nordheim has not seen significant community spread, and has witnessed large gaps in time where there has been no new cases. With the advent of the COVID-19 vaccine, the government has declined any foreign vaccines, and have the People's Ministry for Technology, Education, & Youth working with the People's Ministry for Health to develop a unique Nordheim variant, which will be made available for free for all Nordheim citizens, and any other country that requests it. The vaccine is expected to be completed in May of 2021, and will be mandatory for all Nordheim citizens. Vaccinations for foreign citizens will also be required for future entry into the country.

All healthcare policy is dictated by the People's Ministry for Health.

Immigration & Trade
Nordheim is open to all immigrants from all backgrounds, and currently has an open border immigration policy. All immigrants are provided the same state support as all other citizens. Immigrants and refugees are offered free classes on Nordheimer society in order to better integrate into society. Nordheim supports taking in larger numbers of refugees.

Nordheim is open to trade with other socialist and communist countries, although seeks to be self-sufficient

All immigration policy is dictated by the People's Ministry for the Interior.

All trade policy is dictated by the People's Ministry for Economics & Finance.

Labor Rights & Welfare Benefits
The minimum wage in Nordheim is currently 20 Euros/hr. All employees receive paid time off, and the maximum hours worked in a day is set to six. The work week is currently 30 hours long. There are strict worker safety measures in place. All required training and materials for a workplace are required to be provided for free. There is currently a universal basic income of 1600 Euros a month. An additional pension of 400 Euros a month are given to those over the age of 55.

Labor Unions
All places of business in Nordheim are required to be unionized, and all workers are required to be members in said unions in order to continue work at these places of commerce. All unions in Nordheim are managed by the People's Ministry for Labor. Unions in Nordheim since 2009 have played largely a ceremonial role as they have essentially become extensions of the Communist Party. Unions are now responsible for social support at a local level, allowing Nordheimers to develop relationships between their comrade workers. Union chairmen often preside over weddings. Unions also hold a single seat for each union on local city councils. However, since all unions have been consolidated into a few select ones for each industry, there are at most 10 seats taken by them, and make up no more than half of any city council.

The following unions are officially recognized by the Labor Union Consolidation & Control Act of 2009:


 * United Construction Workers (UCW) - Construction industry
 * Amalgamated Manufacturers of Nordheim (AMN) - Manufacturing industry
 * Federation of Trade, Transportation, & Utility Workers (FTTUW) - Trade, transportation, and utility industry
 * International Association of Information Workers (IAIW) - Information industry
 * United Financier Association of Nordheim (UFAN) - Finance industry
 * Amalgamated Professional & Business Services Workers of Nordheim (APBSWN) - Professional & business services industry
 * Nordheimer Educators United (NEU) - Education industry
 * International Federation of Leisure & Hospitality Workers (IFLHW) - Leisure & hospitality industry
 * Nordheimer United Government & State Employees (NUGSE) - Government workers
 * Associated International Union of Amalgamated & United Workers of Nordheim Federation (AIUAUWNF) - All other industries

The above benefits are dictated by the People's Ministry for Labor.