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New collective employment agreement with the federal states: Universities want to use the freedoms offered
On 1 November, the new collective employment agreement - Länder (TV-L) - negotiated between the employers represented by the Tarifgemeinschaft deutscher Länder (TdL) and the employees represented by the trade unions ver.di and DBB-Tarifunion came into force. It replaces the BAT salary scale. At its meeting in Berlin on 14 November, the Plenary Assembly of the German Rector's Conference (Hochschulrektorenkonferenz - HRK) discussed the consequences of this development."The new collective employment agreement is essentially better than the old BAT agreement for the universities," reported HRK President Professor Dr. Margret Wintermantel in Berlin on the day after the Plenary Assembly. "However, if the improvements are truly to be able to take effect, then the federal states must not narrow down the new freedoms that have been opened up for the universities by introducing state-specific restrictions. Furthermore, the savings achieved in the salary rates must largely flow back into the universities." Only then could the new performance-oriented salary elements be put to effective use.
The HRK had spoken out early to advocate an independent employment agreement for academia and research. This could not be achieved. However, the TV-L employment agreement does contain special arrangements for academia and research and for university hospitals. The Plenary Assembly welcomed this as a first and important step towards a research-compatible, flexible and performance-based employment and service law for the universities. In particular, the abolishment of the so-called Besserstellungsverbot, i.e. the prohibition on offering different payment levels to holders of positions in the same salary category, and the opportunity to make flexible working hours arrangements were welcomed as positive steps by the Plenary Assembly.
However, the federal states are saving millions of financial resources by the late adjustment of salaries, restrictive transitional arrangements, and reductions to the annual special payment. These savings, said the HRK Plenary Assembly, must not be taken out of the higher education sector. Rather, the federal states must now make these financial resources available for performance-oriented payment elements.
The Plenary Assembly also called for the federal states to quickly take up negotiations with the trade unions on the salary group categories. These talks must include the HRK, which will then introduce its own proposals on this matter. The universities once again confirmed their view that the employer function must be transferred to them for all their sections and units, including university hospitals.
New collective employment agreement with the federal states: Universities want to use the freedoms offered [Größe 0.03 MB, Typ pdf]
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