Amid plans for higher salaries for federal civil servants, The Left party is advocating for a general discussion concerning the entire concept of civil service employment. Dietmar Bartsch, the faction’s spokesperson on budgetary matters, told the “Rheinische Post” (Thursday edition) that it is ineffectual to “raise the fundamental question of in which areas the professional civil service is necessary, even if this debate is not comfortable”. He added that it would be detrimental to social cohesion when discussions about further cuts and restrictions are primarily focused on current employees, future state pension recipients, and patients utilizing state funds, while other groups-who are already well-secured both now and in old age-can anticipate additional improvements. Despite this, Bartsch acknowledged that the federal government cannot disregard the ruling of the Federal Constitutional Court, even if that ruling involves “costly requirements”. The Left party politician affirmed that they would naturally examine the Interior Minister’s draft law very carefully. The ministry’s draft legislation cites directives from Karlsruhe as justification for the new salary structure. This stems from a ruling by the Federal Constitutional Court in November, which judged that many civil servants in the state of Berlin had been underpaid for many years.
Politics
