As the state apparatus grows, so do the costs of running! Since 2013, the number of civil servants in federal ministries has increased by almost 50 percent. Taxpayers will also have to shell out more to provide an economic cushion against these surging jobs.
According to a study conducted by Bernd Raffelhüschen, a financial scientist at the University of Freiburg on behalf of the Bavarian Economic Association (VBW), since 2013, up to 7,000 new civil service positions have been created in federal ministries, an increase of 47 percent!
And most of these new positions belong to the high-paid group, namely senior civil servants. There are secretaries of state, heads of departments and others who receive good salaries and taxpayers are forced to pay more to support them. The example of the Federal Ministry of Health is particularly explosive. During the pandemic, the Federal Ministry of Health has created many new positions. However, after the end of the special mission, the trend of increasing the number of posts did not reverse.
These ministries are becoming more and more bloated
The Ministry of Economy and the Prime Minister's Office have benefited the most from the increase in civil servants: 898 new jobs have been created in the Ministry of Economy alone, 860 new jobs in the Prime Minister's Office and 745 new jobs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the same time, businesses are struggling with ever-increasing bureaucratic costs. In the past few years alone, supply chain laws, sustainability reporting, and heating planning laws have been introduced.
According to financial expert Raffelhüschen, bureaucracy has burdened the economy this year with a total of 67 billion euros, and the trend is rising!
Since 2013, the cost of personnel in various ministries has doubled. They are even 114% higher than gross domestic product (GDP). While Germany's economy is struggling, the state is spending more and more money on civil servants.
Bertram Brossardt, managing director of vbw, sounded the alarm in Le Monde: the increase in personnel is not only driving up costs. And: "More employees create more regulations, which brings more bureaucracy to the company." "He made a clear demand: stop the increase in positions in the federal government immediately! In addition, redundancies should be encouraged as much as possible.
During the two legislative periods of the Merkel grand coalition government (2005-2009, 2013-2021), the number of posts in the state apparatus, especially in ministries, increased rapidly. In order to develop new laws, regulations and bureaucratic tasks, the expansion of the organization between 2013 and 2021 was evident, and the number of employees increased significantly. In particular, a lot of new positions with high salaries have been created.
The current government, led by the Traffic Light Alliance, has slightly reversed this trend. However, the overall trend of increasing personnel has not completely stopped. Brossardt noted that the number of posts in ministries and the Chancellery "has recently gotten significantly out of control."
The income of a civil servant
The salaries of civil servants in Germany are paid according to the salary system, which is divided into salary groups according to rank. Salary depends on the salary group, salary level, and length of service. Civil servants, unlike employees, receive a basic salary and can receive supplementary allowances depending on the position and specific requirements.
Generally, employees with senior non-technical administrative services vocational qualifications can apply for office positions in various ministries. These are usually paid according to salary groups A9 to A16. The total monthly salary is between €3,300 and €7,000.
These people often have various allowances. Civil servants who are married or have children have family allowances, and there are other special allowances for certain functions or long service periods. If you are divided into a higher salary group, the monthly income will be higher. Civil servants' salaries are taxable, but they are not required to pay statutory pension insurance, and they receive a pension after retirement.
The media looked online at ten current job advertisements from different ministries. In all ten cases, a beginner with the necessary professional qualifications can immediately earn a total income of more than 4000 euros per month.
According to research by financial scientist Raffelhüschen, the increase in civil servants will result in a loss of another 6.3 billion euros to taxpayers by 2030 and up to 11.6 billion euros by 2040. The pension costs that taxpayers will face in the coming years are not yet included in this amount!
Curbing the proliferation of civil servants
The economic and scientific communities have given important impetus to how the state can curb the proliferation of civil servants and the resulting cost explosion.
In order for Germany's state apparatus to return to a lean and cost-effective structure, a combination of digitalization, reduced bureaucracy, more efficient structures and employment braking could help. So how can we curb the problem of the proliferation of civil servants?
- A significant reduction in the public sector would discourage economic growth. In order to avoid a net increase in the number of civil servants, the only way to create new ones is to wait for old ones to become obsolete. Many civil servants will retire in the coming years. This natural turnover can be used to reduce the number of civil servants, rather than automatically filling vacancies.
- Through digitization and automated management, the state apparatus can function more efficiently and reduce the need for personnel. Automating processes, online services, and digital files streamlines workflows and reduces bureaucracy, which means fewer staff needs.
- Closer integration and cooperation within ministries can also help curb the proliferation of civil servants. But structural reforms are needed for this. Better distribution of tasks within ministries can help avoid duplication of effort and tap the potential for efficiency.
- Temporary civil service contract! Certain crises or special assignments, such as refugee crises, are often handled by outside officials. These positions can be temporary and will be canceled once the special assignment is completed. Scientist Raffelhüsschen also advocated checking for possible layoffs elsewhere.
- Reform of the salary system is imperative! Civil servants' salaries will be allocated more on the basis of merit rather than on the basis of length of service, and the incentive to improve efficiency will increase.
- The use of independent external audits allows for an assessment of the staffing needs and efficiency of ministries. Better recommendations can also be made for appropriate work adjustments.
The proliferation of civil servants in Germany has sparked serious discussions Welcome to visit
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