“The public service is the backbone of our democracy”
News The public service 06 January 2025
Federal Minister Faeser sees the public service and democracy in general under growing pressure.
Federal Minister of the Interior and Community Nancy Faeser spoke at the 66th annual meeting of the German Civil Service Federation (dbb) in Cologne on 6 January. Hendrik Wüst, the minister-president of the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Cologne’s mayor Henriette Reker also attended the meeting with representatives from the labour unions dbb and ver.di as well as the association of local authorities employers (VKA). Referring to the upcoming round of collective bargaining with the labour unions for public service employees, Federal Minister Faeser said that she hoped the negotiations would be constructive and conducted in a spirit of mutual trust, as in the past. She also emphasised the importance of the public service for democracy and social cohesion.
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“In these challenging times, we are called on to reinforce the public’s trust in their government and its institutions. Today more than ever.”
The public service: A guarantee for democracy
“Our public service is the backbone of our democratic state, a reliable guarantee of stability and justice. The public service protects our freedoms, watches over our security and makes sure that our fundamental rights are not just empty words on paper, but something we can act on every day,”
Federal Minister Faeser said. Government is facing increasing public expectations, she said, and it is not becoming any easier to keep its promises: to safeguard public and social security, provide functioning infrastructure for education, health care and transport, and ensure stable public finances. In times of crisis, government must offer orientation and stability for public administration and the political sphere.
Slightly more than 5 million people work in the public service. Many areas of public life depend on the police, teachers, day-care workers, train drivers and mail carriers employed in the public service. The dbb beamtenbund und tarifunion represents the interests of civil servants and other public service employees at federal and local level.
Making the public service more attractive
A strong public service needs skilled and dedicated people. That is why employment in the public service must continue to be attractive, with varied and interesting work as well as secure and family-friendly jobs, also in view of the generally difficult financial conditions. In this context, Federal Minister Faeser referred to the younger generation in particular: “If we want to remain attractive to young people, we must respond to their needs. They want a healthy work–life balance, good opportunities for development and flexible working conditions,” the federal minister said, adding that long-term working time accounts are a good solution. Treating others with respect is essential for a functioning society, she said, and a lack of respect for members of the police and emergency services is unacceptable.