Mobility costs money - especially if the place of business is difficult to reach, as Hohenheim is. Cost arise not only from the planned parking fees but also for the politically desired alternatives such as switching to public transportation or purchasing an e-bike.
In the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations, the University Management is therefore calling for a mobility supplement for state employees. That would be a step in the right direction to prevent public service from becoming even more unattractive, especially for the lower pay grades. Personal letters and additional press work are to emphasize the suggestion.
On 31 December 2018, the current collective bargaining agreement for the states (TV-L) ends. Before the upcoming negotiations, the President of the University of Hohenheim is planning to call for a mobility supplement in the new collective bargaining agreement.
The supplement is to be provided to all state employees in all pay grades to be used as they choose.
“With this supplement, the state government would recognize that parking fees at work mean a pay reduction if they are not compensated in other ways,” stated the President. “As a University, we would also benefit from this compensation. After all, in the public sector we need attractive working conditions in order to be competitive for new employees compared to the private sector.”
The desired incentive effect would then be turned into something positive. “The goal of the state government is to make cars unattractive as a way of getting to work. With a mobility supplement that is not required to be used in a certain way, each employee can decide whether the money is invested in parking fees, public transportation, or a good bicycle. Those who are not dependent on a car can switch to alternative transportation and possibly even come out better financially.”
The President is basing his suggestion on a concept approved by this year’s Economic Nobel Prize winner William Nordhaus: To reduce the amount of private CO2 emissions, he suggests a punitive tax on fossil fuels that is then directly redistributed to the citizens - regardless of how much energy they use.
The advantage: Energy-saving behavior will be financially beneficial for everyone without low-income groups having to deal with disproportionate losses of income.
In order to place more emphasis on the idea of a mobility supplement, the President of the University of Hohenheim offers to work together with the employees’ interest representatives in the upcoming collective bargaining agreement negotiations.
Written on: 17 October 2018
