Post by Jaga on Aug 27, 2007 15:31:42 GMT -7
Two news items from yesterday:
www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/europe/26germany.html
Germans Ease Curbs on Skilled Labor From Eastern Europe
By JUDY DEMPSEY
BERLIN, Aug. 25 — In a major shift in policy, the German government has announced that it will ease labor restrictions for skilled workers from East European members of the European Union to try to overcome shortages in vital economic sectors.
The announcement, by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday after a two-day cabinet session to set the government’s agenda for the remaining two years of its four-year term, reflects the potential crisis facing Germany.
German industry, the world leader in exports, has repeatedly complained about the lack of skilled labor, outdated training programs, high labor costs and the falling birthrate. Universities are short of professors and other senior teaching professionals in a country where college education is largely free. Mrs. Merkel said the new plan would meet the concerns of industry and help maintain Germany’s competitive edge despite the immense competition from China.
The decision to open up the labor market to the European Union’s eastern countries represents a turnaround by the German government. In 2004, just before 10 new countries from Eastern Europe joined the union, Berlin imposed restrictions, lasting up to seven years, on when citizens from the new member states could work in Germany.
The restrictions were imposed even though the free movement of labor is one of the fundamental rights in European Union law. Germany argued at the time that a big influx of labor from the new members would destabilize its labor market.
The reality is that German industry, hotels and services have faced immense pressure from the lower labor costs in Poland. The German Finance Ministry said there was a thriving black economy in Germany while German companies used Polish services in Poland to keep costs down.
The new plan, agreed to by the coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats, means that electrical and mechanical engineers from the East European and Balkan countries that joined the European Union in the past three years may start working in Germany next November.
With so many skilled workers already having left Eastern Europe, the plan is not expected to attract many immigrants. Given the labor shortage in Germany, those who will be hired by industry here are not expected to undermine local wages.
The countries involved include the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania. Malta and Cyprus are also on the list.
Experts doubt Germany will have much access to skilled workers from Eastern Europe. A recent report by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies showed that the new European Union members were facing their own labor shortages.
www.nytimes.com/2007/08/26/world/europe/26germany.html
Germans Ease Curbs on Skilled Labor From Eastern Europe
By JUDY DEMPSEY
BERLIN, Aug. 25 — In a major shift in policy, the German government has announced that it will ease labor restrictions for skilled workers from East European members of the European Union to try to overcome shortages in vital economic sectors.
The announcement, by Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday after a two-day cabinet session to set the government’s agenda for the remaining two years of its four-year term, reflects the potential crisis facing Germany.
German industry, the world leader in exports, has repeatedly complained about the lack of skilled labor, outdated training programs, high labor costs and the falling birthrate. Universities are short of professors and other senior teaching professionals in a country where college education is largely free. Mrs. Merkel said the new plan would meet the concerns of industry and help maintain Germany’s competitive edge despite the immense competition from China.
The decision to open up the labor market to the European Union’s eastern countries represents a turnaround by the German government. In 2004, just before 10 new countries from Eastern Europe joined the union, Berlin imposed restrictions, lasting up to seven years, on when citizens from the new member states could work in Germany.
The restrictions were imposed even though the free movement of labor is one of the fundamental rights in European Union law. Germany argued at the time that a big influx of labor from the new members would destabilize its labor market.
The reality is that German industry, hotels and services have faced immense pressure from the lower labor costs in Poland. The German Finance Ministry said there was a thriving black economy in Germany while German companies used Polish services in Poland to keep costs down.
The new plan, agreed to by the coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats, means that electrical and mechanical engineers from the East European and Balkan countries that joined the European Union in the past three years may start working in Germany next November.
With so many skilled workers already having left Eastern Europe, the plan is not expected to attract many immigrants. Given the labor shortage in Germany, those who will be hired by industry here are not expected to undermine local wages.
The countries involved include the three Baltic states, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Bulgaria and Romania. Malta and Cyprus are also on the list.
Experts doubt Germany will have much access to skilled workers from Eastern Europe. A recent report by the Vienna Institute for International Economic Studies showed that the new European Union members were facing their own labor shortages.