As of: March 18, 2024, 11:21 p.m
By: Max Schäfer
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Press
Split
The reform of civil servant pay has not made any progress for over a year.
The reason is a blockade by the Ministry of Finance.
The SPD, the Greens and the Civil Service Association are annoyed.
Berlin – The next dispute in the traffic light coalition is on the horizon.
Latest topic: the salaries of civil servants.
The Federal Constitutional Court had already called for a reform in 2020.
At the start, the federal government wanted to get the law underway quickly.
But this issue has been at a standstill for over a year.
In January 2023, the Federal Ministry of the Interior presented a draft to reform civil servant pay.
According to this, civil servants in the simple and middle service should receive higher salaries when starting out.
The ministry also provides for a child allowance and subsidies depending on the place of residence.
The whole thing should mean additional expenditure of 260 million euros.
Higher civil servant salaries: Traffic light government puts draft to reform civil servant salaries on hold
According to a report in the FAZ,
the Interior Ministry's draft should
not be pursued any further.
The reason for this is the additional expenditure, which puts a strain on the already tight budget.
The Ministry of Finance is therefore blocking the law.
Marcel Emmerich, Green Party chairman in the Interior Committee, and Ingo Schäfer, SPD reporter, explained this to the
FAZ
.
The traffic light had previously considered saving 150 million euros in the reform.
“It annoys me that the draft bill to reform the Federal Salary Act has been discussed within the government for 14 months and has been blocked by the Ministry of Finance,” said Emmerich.
“The officials are losing patience, and I feel the same way.”
The Ministry of the Interior explained to the
FAZ
that the interdepartmental coordination is ongoing due to the complexity of the matter .
It is not possible to set a date for the cabinet discussion or for the start of the parliamentary procedure.
Higher salaries for civil servants: Civil Service Association is considering legal action due to traffic light “inaction”.
The German Civil Service Association (dbb) criticizes the standstill within the traffic light coalition.
Nancy Faeser in particular is in focus: “She rightly demands loyalty to the constitution from civil servants, but as constitutional minister herself does not adhere to the decisions of the Constitutional Court,” said dbb federal chairman Ulrich Silberbach.
The dbb will not accept this inaction and reserves the right to take legal action.
Civil servants demonstrate for more pay.
(Archive photo) © Boris Roessler/dpa
“We are currently in discussions with members and, due to the delay, are examining an administrative court model case in order to have the unconstitutional salary determined again,” Silberbach told the
FAZ
.
The prospects for the trial are good.
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The Ministry of Finance is said to have asked the Faeser Ministry to start from scratch when it comes to reforming civil servant pay
According to Marcel Emmerich, however, the Ministry of Finance demanded that the Ministry of the Interior start “all over again”.
He therefore does not want to commit to a vote before the summer holidays, reports the
FAZ
.
However, he also points out the time pressure: “If we do not implement the requirements from Karlsruhe promptly, there is a risk that we will lose the trust of the officials.”
SPD politician Ingo Schäfer is more optimistic and wants to get civil servant pay reforms underway quickly - before the summer break.
“I don’t assume that the draft bill will have to be completely rewritten in order to reach consensus within the coalition,” Schäfer told the
FAZ
.
There will be individual points that need to be changed based on the wishes of the Federal Ministry of Finance.
“This can be done by the summer holidays.”
Civil servant salaries must be reformed following two rulings by the Federal Constitutional Court in 2020.
The decisions specifically related to the salaries of judges and public prosecutors in Berlin and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The salaries of the civil servants were not appropriate, especially when one takes into account rent prices and the cost of living in large cities.
(ms)