With, Departures
24.06.2026 – 05:23:20 | boerse-global.de
With – With 40,000 Departures Ahead, Berlin Overhauls Staff Representation to Attract Talent 24.06.2026 – Bild: über boerse-global.de
Berlin faces a looming workforce exodus. By the end of 2031, roughly 40,000 employees are projected to leave the city’s public service. To fill that gap and keep the administration running, the Berlin Senate approved a comprehensive rewrite of the state’s staff representation law on June 23, 2026. The draft, submitted by Finance Senator Stefan Evers, is designed to modernize workplace rights and make the city a more competitive employer.
A cornerstone of the reform is the legal recognition of digital communication in personnel council work. The proposal introduces more flexible deadlines and allows for advance decisions – so-called “Vorratsbeschlüsse” – to keep committees operating efficiently. Trade unions gain expanded access rights to public buildings and staff. Data protection rules within the representation structures have been tightened, while a negative catalog spells out the limits of co-determination. New co-determination categories and provisional regulations ensure that employee representatives are brought in early when organizational changes occur.
Union leaders, however, want more. The education union GEW demanded stronger protections for LGBTQ+ people. GEW board member Tiam Breidenbach called queer educational work an essential pillar of democracy. The union cited Federal Criminal Police Office figures showing that anti-queer hate crime rose 12.8 percent in 2025, reaching 2,377 cases. Meanwhile, the German Civil Service Association (dbb) pushed for more robust safeguards against political interference in the career civil service. dbb head Volker Geyer insisted disciplinary measures should be imposed only by administrative courts, and that personnel selection must follow the strict principle of best-qualified selection.
The staffing challenge lies behind much of the urgency. With tens of thousands due to retire or leave by 2031, Berlin must recruit heavily just to maintain current service levels. To sweeten the deal for new hires, the Senate also backed a package of complementary measures. The centerpiece: expanding employer-provided housing. The goal is for state-owned companies to deliver around 3,000 apartments by 2031. Finance Senator Evers and Governing Mayor Kai Wegner stressed that attractive working conditions, including modern co-determination structures, are essential to positioning Berlin as an appealing employer.
The draft now goes to the Council of Mayors for comment before entering the formal parliamentary process.
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