Germany: How Berlin wants to hire more migrants into its public service

Integration Senator Breitenbach wants people with a migration background to be better represented in the civil service. She proposes a migrant quota of 35 per cent in public administration.

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Berlin’s Integration Senator Elke Breitenbach, a member of the Left party, wants more people with a migration background to work in the civil service.

A new draft law provides for a quota, as the “Tagesspiegel” reported on Saturday. According to the bill, in future there should be a similar proportion of people with foreign roots in public administration as in the population. Currently, their share in the civil service is estimated at 12 per cent whereas they constitute 35 per cent of the Berlin population.

According to the draft, people with a migration background are to be given preference in hiring if they are equally well qualified and their quota has not yet been reached.

“We hold that all people in this city have the same opportunities. We do not accept structural discrimination,” Breitenbach told the newspaper. “Fixed rules and a clear promotion in the form of a quota are necessary so that more people with a migration history are employed in public administration.” The Berlin parliament would have to decide on such a law.

The proposed quota target is also expected to apply to state companies such as the waste disposal company BSR or the transport company BVG, to courts and public prosecutors’ offices, among others. Applicants and employees should be able to state voluntarily whether they have a migration background.

Sola Jolaoso

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