Facing proposed pay increases for federal civil servants, the Left party is demanding a general discussion about civil service appointments. Dietmar Bartsch, the fraktion’s budget policy spokesperson, told the “Rheinische Post” (Thursday edition) that it is necessary to raise “the fundamental question of in which areas the professional civil service is needed, even if this debate is not comfortable”. He argued that the discussion about further cuts and restrictions for current employees, future statutory pensioners, and state-insured patients would be disastrous for social cohesion, especially when other groups who are already well-secured both today and in old age anticipate additional improvements. Nonetheless, Bartsch stated that the federal government could not ignore the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, even if it represents a “costly requirement”. The Left politician added that they would “naturally review the Interior Minister’s draft bill very carefully”. The Ministry of the Interior’s draft bill references guidelines from Karlsruhe as the justification for the new salary structure. Specifically, the Federal Constitutional Court had ruled in November that many civil servants in the state of Berlin had been underpaid for years.
Left Party Demands Wide Debate Over Civil Service Status Amid Pay Hike Talk
