GERMANY
A German Court has upheld a ban on the country’s Public Servants going on strike, saying its removal would “fundamentally reshape the principles of the Civil Service”.
In its judgement, the Federal Constitutional Court rejected four complaints against a ban on PS employees striking brought by representatives of teachers, who are classified as PS staff in three German States.
All had been disciplined for taking part in strikes organised by trade unions.
The authorities which punished them claimed that, by striking, they had breached fundamental duties under Public Service law, including a bar on being absent from work without permission.
According to the ruling, a right to strike — even if limited to particular groups of PS employees — would be incompatible with the fundamental principles of Public Service law.
The court said the principals included a duty of loyalty, lifetime employment, and “alimentation”, which includes remuneration regulated by law.
“At the very least, it would require fundamental changes to these principles, which are essential to the functioning of the Civil Service,” the judgment said.
“If a right to strike was granted, there would be no scope, for instance, for regulating remuneration by law.”
The court also found that the authorities had not disregarded the Constitution in presuming that there was a ban on strike action.
There was no need to have the ban specifically laid down in constitutional law, the court said.
PS employees were required to work for the common good and to follow instructions, and the combination of these duties implied the ban sufficiently, the judgment stated.
Chair of the Education and Science Union (GEW), Marlis Tepe (pictured) said it was a “black day for democracy and human rights”.
“The Constitutional Court sees neither a conflict between German and international law nor a collision in German jurisdictions,” Ms Tepe said.
Berlin, 23 June 2018
