As of: March 28, 2024, 4:47 a.m
By: Amy Walker
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Press
Split
Despite a constitutional court ruling in 2020, the federal government has not adjusted the salaries of civil servants as it should. The unions are becoming impatient.
Berlin – According to media reports, the federal government is not planning to tackle a reform of civil servant pay called for by the Federal Constitutional Court. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) reported on this last week. However, there were first indications of this as early as December 2023, when the planned funds for implementing the reform were quickly removed from the federal budget draft (we reported).
According to reports, it is still a question of money, which is why the traffic light government has decided not to pursue the reform any further. It is said that the 250 to 300 million euros that were originally planned for this are too expensive for the finance minister.
Civil servants sometimes only earn as little as citizens' benefit recipients
The background is a decision by the Federal Constitutional Court from May 2020. At that time, the judges decided that the salaries of civil servants were sometimes not appropriate, especially when rent prices and the cost of living in large cities are taken into account. This particularly applies to starting salaries in simple and medium-level jobs.
The court found, among other things, that civil servants at lower pay levels essentially did not earn enough money to support themselves and a family. As an example, the customs and finance union calculates in
Wirtschaftswoche
: A middle-level civil servant with a spouse and two children at level A7 earns 3,691 euros in Munich, including child benefit and surcharges. A citizen's benefit family with the same conditions comes to 3,112 euros. The new increase of twelve percent reduced this gap, according to the accusation.
The Federal Police checks entering vehicles with the support of customs and Polish officials. © Bernd Wüstneck/dpa
Since then, the federal government has been working on reform - at least theoretically. Salaries have already been adjusted at the state level, but federal civil servants have not yet been better off. In addition to a general salary increase, especially when starting a career, there should be higher supplements for civil servants with children, which should be based on housing benefit. Officials in regions with a tight housing market would receive greater support.
“This is disrespectful”: Union warns of legal action
But at the federal level it is not possible to agree on a draft. According
to
Wirtschaftswoche,
this is not just due to the money that is being withheld by Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP). The Chancellor is also said to have something against the idea of improving the status of children of civil servants - out of concern that the children of employees would then be disadvantaged by the state.
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When asked by this editorial team, the civil service union dbb reacted with disbelief: “This is disrespectful – towards the judges in Karlsruhe as well as towards the civil servants. Of course, our colleagues are expected to be loyal to the constitution. Of course, they can also expect the same from their employer,” said chairman Ulrich Silberbach. The dbb warns that we reserve the right to take legal action.