Economists, politicians and the taxpayers’ federation are demanding that the permanent civil‑servant status for teachers be halted, citing mounting costs for civil servants and their pensions. Economist Martin Werding told the “Rheinische Post” (Wednesday edition) that the most effective long‑term lever to restrain these expenses is a more restrained approach to granting permanent civil‑servant status. He emphasized that this should especially apply to public workers who do not carry out clear sovereign duties, such as teachers.
Saxony’s Minister of Education, Conrad Clemens (CDU), echoed this view. “The civil‑servant status for teachers is anachronistic” he said. “We can’t afford widespread civil‑service status for teachers anymore. The burden on the budgets is simply too high”.
During this week’s conference of education ministers, Clemens proposed that from 2030 no teachers should be granted permanent civil‑servant status. “We need to ask ourselves generically in which areas we still offer civil‑servant status” he added.
Backing this proposal is the Taxpayers’ Federation. President Reiner Holznagel cautioned that Germany’s large civil‑servants’ system places enormous strain on public finances. “We must examine the civil‑servant status in depth – its scope and privileges are under critical scrutiny because the financial gap in society is widening, while workers in the private economy can only shake their heads”.
