Berlin plans 35 percent migrant quota for public services

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Berlin police officers on Kurfürstendamm

Photo: Andreas Friedrichs / imago images / A.

Friedrichs

Berlin is the first federal state to aim for a migrant quota for its public service.

The »Tagesspiegel« reports, referring to a corresponding bill.

According to this, the Senate should be obliged to »ensure the representation of employees in the state of Berlin with a migration background in accordance with their share of the Berlin population«.

The law was agreed in the coalition agreement and is to be passed in September before the end of the current legislative period.

Public authorities would therefore have to actively work towards having at least 35 percent people with a migration background as employees.

So far, the proportion is estimated to be around twelve percent.

"We are dealing with people here who live in the second or third generation in Germany and who no longer want to constantly encounter barriers because of their origin," the newspaper quotes the Berlin integration officer Katarina Niewiedzial, who was in charge of the draft worked.

According to the »Tagesspiegel«, a migration background should in future be regarded as a positive attitude characteristic - similar to the characteristics »woman« or »severely disabled«.

The recording of the feature is voluntary.

Migrants should already be invited in the selection process according to their proportion of the population, as long as they are sufficiently qualified for the position.

More migrants = higher quota

"It's not a hard quota, it's about increasing the proportion of people with a migration history in line with their share of the population - and binding," said Niewiedzial.

If the proportion of migrants in Berlin increases, the quota should also increase accordingly.

According to the report, the Senate Department for Equal Opportunities has expressed concerns about preferring migrants in a similar way to women, whose promotion is enshrined in the Basic Law.

However, Niewiedzial said the quota was covered by German and European anti-discrimination laws.

"For under-represented groups, positive action may be taken to encourage them."

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