“There is still a need for political action with regard to the scope of application of church labor law. The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court has not changed this. The so-called Third Way continues to be under great pressure to legitimize and reform,” said the President of the Humanist Association of Germany, Frieder Otto Wolf, on the decision published today (2 BvR 2292/13). In its decision of 15 July 2015, the second senate of the Federal Constitutional Court dismissed as inadmissible an appeal by the trade union ver.di, which was challenging the grounds of a ruling by the Federal Labor Court on the right to strike in church institutions. The decision of the Federal Constitutional Court was based on the lack of the right to appeal. In an initial statement, the union expressed regret at the decision, but does not initially see any negative effects on the union’s right to strike in church institutions. According to ver.di, the reasons for the decision will now be examined in detail from a legal perspective. The President of the Humanist Association of Germany went on to say that despite the benevolent ruling by the Federal Labor Court in November 2012, he had no understanding for the still broad scope of application of the third way. “In view of the fact that most church-run institutions are almost and in some cases completely financed from the funds of the welfare state or the remuneration of the beneficiaries, the legal basis of church labor law requires more comprehensive changes that are able to bring both the legitimate interests of church sponsors and those of all employees into an appropriate balance. Why the provisions of collective and individual employment law should generally not apply to employees in church institutions or applicants for such positions is not clear from our perspective,” says Frieder Otto Wolf. The existing church employment law discriminates against employees in church-run institutions as well as employees who do not belong to a Christian denomination without good reason, as the latter can be excluded from employment across the board. “This also affects employees in areas of work that have no real mission to preach or no recognizable religious profile,” Wolf emphasized, such as administrative staff, surgeons, technicians or nursing and cleaning staff. The existing problems are exacerbated by the fact that church employers have a dominant position in the social sector and sometimes even a monopoly. In addition, the coexistence of different employment law regulations for jobs that are perceived to be the same in everyday life creates unnecessary uncertainty and ambiguity among employees regarding their rights and entitlements. Frieder Otto Wolf therefore reiterated the call for the “special status of church employment law to be limited in future to the area closest to preaching”. In addition, all further special regulations beyond the legitimate protection of tendencies, which lead to discrimination against employees on the basis of their ideological or religious convictions, should be abolished.
On the topic
On the occasion of the “Discrimination in Germany 2015” survey launched yesterday by the Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency, the Humanist Association is publishing the first “Glass Walls” report on the systematic discrimination of non-denominational and non-religious people in Germany on September 17, 2015. Among other things, the report also addresses church employment law, explains the background, contains testimonies from those affected and formulates proposals for reform.
