Germany Work Situation

Preunification

After the war lost by Germany, not just two geographic region, where created but, two economic systems. West Germany with Bohn his capital, the British started the development of the car industry, originally was requested of Major Ivan Hirst to dismantle the VW today located in Lower Saxony, the dismantle was part of the reparations, in the Russian side all the heavy manufacture was ship to Russia, depriving eventually East Germany of any heavy industry (The British interest in Lower Saxony was due: the Royal Family line is come from Celle, Brunswick and prince electors of Hannover—Hitler being an Austrian the city of Brunswick given him German citizen). Major Hirst persuaded the British to produces 20,000 Trucks for the British Military, by this fact restarted heavy industry in was to be West Germany.

A consequence of the war, the declined of population in West Germany brought economic immigrants from Spain, Italy and Turkey. Where in East Germany and more after the build of the wall any contact with any foreign individual was consider treason with 10 years of incarceration.

Unification

In the unification period produce challenge the Xenophobic attitude in East Germany because penalty foreign contact in early 1990´s was manifest in race riots against Vietnamese in Rostock killing 90 asylum seekers, where the local policy stood still as the immigrants house was burn with their immigrants occupants. Late 1990´s the unemployment in Germany was 7.7% in the west and 17% in the east (the average was 10% for Germany), in this period two different scale payment where in the East the wage was 25% depress compare to the west and creating an internal immigration, where the male population could not adapted to the new conditions and 40% of East Germany females move to west, since they had a better educations, in East many of the male where directed to manual training skills. The German government invested to east by a solidarity tax from the west.  The unique structure where elite have table with the syndicates give situation, where after WWII Harald Quandt (the son of Güther Quandt and Magda Behrend Rietschel (Magda Marry eventually Goebbles, the Minister propaganda) benefit from the war profits of his father, in this National socialist period, 50,000 Jews Slave working in their factories. The Quandt invested in 200 Germany companies and the tradition of the state with private firms, today despite the European Union ruling not disinvestment, Lower Saxony own VW with Porshe family.

History

Hartz reforms: is a set of recommendations submitted by a commission on reforms to the Germany labor market in 2002 to Socialist Prime Minister Gerhard Schröeder. The Recommendations were named after the head of the commission, Peter Harz  (was the human resources executive at the German public company (VW), resigned: because corruption bogus real estate deal with VW, specially Skoda in the Czech Republic; favors to members of the workers council (Betriebsrat), specially the chairman of the workers council, Klaus Volker  resigned 30 June 2005);  the use of prostitutes at the company's expense in Brazil, sometimes in company-owned apartments and under the influence of Viagra, which had been prescribed by the company's medical service) these recommendations went on to become part of the German Government Agenda 2010, under Prime Minister Angela Merkel, the series of reforms, known as Hartz I - Hartz IV. The committee devised thirteen "innovation modules", which recommended changes to the German labour market system. These were then gradually put into practice: The measures of Hartz I - III were undertaken between January 1, 2003, and 2004, while Hartz IV was implemented on January 1, 2005.

Hartz I:

• The foundation of Staff Services agencies (Personal-Service-Agenturen or PSAs).
• Support for vocational further education from the German Federal Labour Agency.
• Subsistence payments by the Federal Labour Agency.

Hartz II:

• New types of employment, "Minijob" and "Midijob", with lower or gradually rising taxes and insurance payments (450 Euros not taxes), most to the employers offer this type of contract, since the contact does not included any benefice (vacation time, retirement).
• A grant for entrepreneurs, known as the "Ich-AG" (Me, Inc.).
• A rise in the number of job centers.

Hartz III

Hartz III came into effect on January 1, 2004. This measure was aimed at restructuring and reforming Job Centers, in preparation to Harz IVthe any welfare recipient, an after 3 years to 1 Euro per hour job, as force suggestion, if the recipient did not accepted benefice are cut.

Hartz VI

The fourth stage of the reform was voted in by the parliament on December 16, 2003 and by July 9, 2004, to take effect by January 1, 2005.

This part of the reforms brought together the former unemployment benefits for long-term unemployed and the welfare benefits, leaving them both at approximately the lower level of the former (social assistance). The level for a single person was € 374 per month for a single person. This was subsequently raised to € 382 per month, in 2013. Added to this is the financial assistance with housing and health care. Couples can receive benefits for each partner including their children.

Prior to 2005, between 12 and 36 months (depending upon the claimant's age and work history) of their full unemployment benefit (60 to 67% of the previous net salary) were followed by the unemployment assistance, amounting to 53 to 57% of the last net salary. Since 2008, eligibility for the full unemployment benefit has been restricted to 12 months in general, 15 months for those aged 50 or older, 18 months for those 55 or older and 24 months for those 58 or older.

Whether or not a claimant is eligible for depends on his or her savings, life insurance and the income of spouse or partner. If these assets are below a threshold level, a claimant can get money from the state. The threshold level in July 2008 was €150 for free assets (at least €3,100) and €250 for fixed retirement assets, both calculated per capita and lifetime year. Additionally, every employable individual in a communal household (persons living in and depending on the resources of the claimant), can have one car worth about €7,500 and a self-used house of 130 square meters living space (more if there are other people in the common household).

To receive payments, a claimant must agree to a contract subject to public law. This contract outlines what they are obliged to do to improve their job situation, and when the state is obliged to help. An unemployed person may be required to accept any kind of legal job. This compulsion is restricted by constitutional rights, like freedom of movement, freedom of family, marriage and human dignity. If taking on a specific placement is deemed reasonable by the responsible agency, not applying will result in a reduction or even complete suspension of the appropriate payment.

Under this scheme, the state covers the health insurance of the unemployed. Until the end of 2010, payments towards the pension scheme of the claimant were also made. It is possible to earn income from a job and receive benefits at the same time. Job income is debited from payments according to a formula that leaves a certain amount of the additional revenue untouched. These revenues are: a certain amount of savings (which increases with age); €100 plus 20 percent of the wage up to €800 plus 10% of the wage up to €1200 (up to €1500 if there are children). This is a sort of minimum wage for employees without assets, where the minimum wage is not fully paid by the employer but assured by the state. There are criticisms that this defies competition and leads to a downward spiral in wages and the loss of full-time jobs.

The Hartz IV reform merged the federal level unemployment agency with the local level welfare administration. This facilitated a better, case-oriented approach to helping unemployed people find work and improve their situations. The plan's objective is to reduce caseloads from 400 unemployed persons per agent to not more than 75 (aged 25 or less), or not more than 150 persons over the age of 25.

The Hartz IV reforms continue to attract criticism in Germany, despite a considerable reduction in short and long term unemployment. This reduction has led to some claims of success for the Hartz reforms. Others say the actual unemployment figures are not comparable because many people work part-time or are not included in the statistics for other reasons, such as the number of children that live in Hartz IV households, which has risen to record numbers.

Minimum Wage:

In Germany , there is not minimum wage. Each work council, or profession negotiate with the syndicates in the profession for the wage, in the last election the Socialist run on minimum wage across the border of 8,50 Euros.

Syndicates 
In Germany especially in the industry where is a Work Councils, you cannot get a Job for example VW if you do not belong to this Work councils. The work councils are run by elections, where any individual can run, but the left parties (SPD and Left Party) run the more people so the get more positions. The stewards represent any in the floor to the management, by locations.  In 2011 the Confederation of German Trade Unions represented 6 Million workers and decline due to Hartz IV (one reason for his implementation).

Poverty in Germany

From 80 Million Germany, 13.5% of the population “survive” at 12,000 Euros a year and many have the minimal social support, in other side of the spectrum, the German (In Germany is spread into 13.5% of the population) (Foerster M and dÉcorle, 2005,. Income distribution and poverty OECD Countries in the second half 0f 1990´s page 22, figure 6, Eurostart 2013). The super wealthy is second US (2,060 Families) with 70 Million Euros in average consisted. Most of the wealth is concentrated in Souther Provinces (the Catholic Provinces), where high end car manufacture, Porche, mercedes and BMW.

Education

Education has been used by many liberal societies as equalizer of opportunities, needed to consider the use of gate keepers and standards as way to control, to whom, have access, is not just education by an opportunity of the access. The German education is run on the Province level, but in the 10 grade, after test and teachers recommendation, is separated in 4 groups (in general specially for the Gymnasium, students can not transfer from Province to another Province, sinc eSouther Provinces a base test is Latin or Greek not in the nothern Provices they required English, French and close to the Border with Polan, Polish is an option):

 

Haupschule: 3 day of practices for a job and one day of theory in 2000 54.9% of students.

Realschule: 3 days of theory and one practice, any person have very slim (while theoretical possible) enter a university and option is Applied Technical Universities, but not a University, in 2000, 34.1%.

Gymnasium: prepare for the abitur (High School Diploma). Depending in province in Southern part of Germany one of the requirements is Latin or Greek, the other 2 exams are open. In Northern Provinces, English option, because need of tutors to able to master Latin, Greek or English, limited anyone with limited resources access to be prepare for the exam, in 2000 11% sudent polution enter the Gymnasium.

Some of cities have created integrated schools, so any in these specific tracks can crossover; the integrated schools tend to be a political contention issue between Left and the right. The last is apprenticeship, which prepare to a job to any who have completed the tracks.

University are public and some of them began to applied fees like in Lower Saxony (Hannover), but political pressure, the last Province to return to free education is Bavaria, by 2015.