Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

Employment Service Convention, 1948 (No. 88) - Germany (Ratification: 1954)

Organization and functions of the employment service. The Committee notes the comprehensive analysis and detailed information provided by the Government in the report received in August 2010 in reply to the 2006 observation. The Committee asked the Government to report on the practical impact of the measures implemented by the newly created Federal Employment Agency (BA). The Government recalls that in the framework of the reform of the BA between 2005 and 2006, a results-oriented management strategy has been introduced that was geared towards cost-effectiveness. It states that one of the fundamental prerequisites for the success of this new management strategy was to create transparency with respect to results and processes and to provide clarity as to the BA’s general policy orientation. Also, a system of targets geared to outcomes was developed. Unlike the situation in the private industry, financial goals were not seen as top priorities. Rather, the target system had to reflect the mission as required by law. Therefore, success is measured on whether it is possible to avoid unemployment and whether the length of a client’s unemployment has been reduced. The Committee notes among the results achieved: a reduction of unemployment duration (down from approximately 168 days in 2006 to approximately 125 days in 2007); an increase in the number of persons integrated into the labour market (up from 37.3 per cent in 2006 to 42.2 per cent in 2009); an increase of the public institutions’ share in successful placements (up from 9.3 per cent in 2006 to 10.6 per cent in 2009); an increase of successfully filled vacancies (up from 203,725 in 2006 to 293,042 in 2009). The Government indicates that the BA’s efforts were focused on its core activities, namely advisory services and placement. Specific action programmes for employers were introduced in all employment offices at the end of 2006 as a central element of the reform. Cases of good practice were selected, systematized and publicized. The Committee also notes that in 2006, the BA placement, advisory and information system (VerBIS) was put into operation to complement the Job Exchange database. Since August 2009, jobseekers can register online. Approximately 820,000 jobs are currently offered on the Job Exchange, 3.7 million candidates’ profiles are published, an average of 665,000 persons visit Job Exchange every day and ten million persons view the site, which is one of the largest e-Government applications. The Committee refers to its observation on the application of the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122) and expresses its appreciation of the efforts in implementing measures to achieve the best possible organization of the employment market through the public employment service in an extremely difficult period. It invites the Government to continue to provide, in its next reports on the application of Convention No. 88, relevant information concerning the results of measures implemented to enhance the capacity of the BA to promote full and productive employment (Articles 1 and 6 of the Convention).

Status and training of employment service staff. In reply to the 2006 observation, the Government indicates that out of a staff of approximately 110,000 persons, around 67,800 have employee status (of which around 800 are on temporary leave from civil servant status), and 15,600 have civil servant status. Some 23,200 persons are employed with fixed-term contracts and 3,200 are junior employees. Approximately 63,000 staff members are employed in the unemployment insurance field; 43,000 in the field of the guaranteed minimum income for jobseekers and 3,600 in the Family Allowance Fund. The Committee notes that the BA Diversity Management Strategy ensures that the varying experience and skills of certain staff members, such as migrants and persons with disabilities, are used specifically to meet clients’ needs. The Government also indicated that the Collective Agreement for Persons Employed by the Federal Employment Office (TV-BA) entered into force in January 2006 and that the BA has reviewed the in-house training system in recent years with a view to keeping staff members’ qualifications up to date.

Cooperation between the public employment service and private employment agencies. The Committee recalls its 2006 observation in which it invited the Government to report on the measures taken to ensure that cooperation between the BA and private employment agencies is effective within the meaning of Article 11 of the Convention. In paragraph 227 of the 2010 General Survey concerning employment instruments, the Committee also recalled that in Germany cooperation between public and private employment services has taken the form of quasi-outsourcing by the public employment services. In this regard, the Government confirms in its report that the private placement market is firmly established. The existing cooperation between the public and private services has been increased and private agencies make use of the Job Exchange platform to publish job offers. The Committee further notes that the possibility of outsourcing placement services to private providers has been expanded to cover more generally activation and vocational integration measures, including placement services, to assist persons seeking training, and those who were made redundant or who are unemployed (section 46 of the Social Code, Book III, as modified by the Law on Modification of Labour Market Policy, which entered into force on 1 January 2009). As part of the decentralized structure, the individual employment offices bear individual responsibility for using private providers’ services and for referring their clients to those services. The Committee invites the Government to continue to provide information on measures taken to ensure effective cooperation between the BA and private employment agencies.