Professional association of independent craftspeople
The professional association of independent craftspeople e. V. (BUH) is a German association based in Hamburg and was founded in 1994. The founders were craftsmen who wanted to become self-employed in Germany without a master craftsman's examination and without compulsory membership of the Chamber of Crafts .
The association campaigns for the abolition of the compulsory master craftsman and for the freedom of occupation in the craft in Germany. The master craftsman's certificate, on the other hand, is not generally rejected as a training course and as a title.
The association is recognized by the Bundestag and the Federal Constitutional Court as a professional association on the subject of craft law. It is due, among other things, to the initiative of the association that the restriction of freedom of trade in the handicrafts received increased attention.
However , from the BUH's point of view, the amendment to the craft regulations at the beginning of 2004 is not yet a great success. It is true that more than half of the full crafts were exempted from the compulsory mastery; However, these changes mainly affect craft businesses with few employees, so that less than a quarter of those employed in the craft are affected.