Deadline! The fight over the draft law on the Science Temporary Contract Act

dossier

““Permanent positions for permanent tasks, minimum standards for temporary contracts” – this is the motto under which the Education and Science Union (GEW) today presented its draft law for the reform of the Science Temporary Contract Act. (…) With our draft we show how the law can be improved in concrete terms and thus increase the pressure on the federal government, the Bundestag and the Bundesrat to finally act…” GEW press release on January 16, 2015 (to the draft here at the bottom). See also our dossierCampaigns for permanent contracts in higher education: Deadlines are frustrationand here about the Science Temporary Contract Act:

• A broad alliance of 16 organizations is demanding – supported by an online petition with 68,000 signatures – an end to the WissZeitVG and an end to permanent fixed-term contracts
  • Alliance calls for an end to the science temporary contract law
    "A broad alliance of 16 organizations, including ver.di, is united against the amendment to the Science Temporary Contract Act. Although the draft law contains individual improvements such as minimum terms and the equal treatment of third-party funded employees when it comes to compensating for disadvantages, it does issue employers with a health certificate for permanent employment, according to a PM sent by the alliance today. An online petition from the alliance has already received more than 68,000 signatures."Joint press release from the alliance against permanent employment in science from September 7, 2026 at ver.di with links to the detailed reasons. See similar:
  • GEW: Alliance calls for an end to the WissZeitVG
    “With a petition, the “Alliance against permanent employment in science” is campaigning to finally end the precarious employment conditions at universities. (…) Instead of the overdue structural reform, the government draft (…) cements the precarious employment conditions at universities and research institutions. (…) With fixed-term employment rates of around 80 percent among scientists without professorships and contract terms of less than 1.5 years on average, the alliance is calling for a fundamental paradigm shift: science is not an exceptional case, but a normal profession. Permanent tasks in research, teaching, supervision, management and transfer would have to be carried out on permanent positions. At the same time, the alliance rejects the separately planned extension of the unfounded fixed-term contract in general labor law to up to four years. (…) The alliance calls on Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär (CSU), the German Bundestag and the states to initiate a fundamental paradigm shift in the further legislative process and to abolish the WissZeitVG. (…) The alliance expects the states to send a clear signal for reliable employment conditions and against the continuation of the science-specific special fixed-term law…” GEW press release from September 7, 2026 
  • fzs:Broad alliance calls for an end to the Science Temporary Contract Act - government draft continues permanent fixed-term contracts - great response to online petition 
• Permanent positions for permanent tasks: Trade unions and science organizations are calling for the abolition of the Science Temporary Contract Act with a petition
  “A broad alliance of trade unions and science organizations is now calling for the abolition of the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) - and has started a petition for this. The GEW is one of the initiators.
  Around four out of five scientists without a professorship are employed on a temporary basis. The average contract term is 18 months at universities and 15 months at universities of applied sciences. 42 percent of employment contracts run for less than a year. A broad alliance of trade unions and science organizations is now calling for the abolition of the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) - and has started a petition for this.
  Precarious work with a name
  The WissZeitVG was intended to promote scientific qualifications and create legal certainty. In fact, it has established special labor law that allows universities and research institutions to employ scientists precariously for many years. Fixed-term employment has become the rule, permanent employment the exception. The consequences: uncertain career paths, unequal opportunities, lack of continuity in teaching and research. (…)
  Science is a normal profession
  The alliance is calling for a fundamental change: the WissZeitVG should be replaced by general labor law, collective agreements and a doctoral funding law. The latter should exclusively regulate the phase up to the doctorate. The same applies to scientists with doctorates as to other employees: permanent employment is the norm. The institutionalized chain of fixed-term contracts in the postdoc phase ends. The uncertain career paths particularly disadvantage scientists with children, care responsibilities, disabilities or chronic illnesses. Those who cannot bear long-term uncertainty often leave science early. Female scientists often drop out instead of moving up.
  Broad alliance, clear demands
  The petition is aimed at Federal Minister Dorothee Bär and members of the Bundestag. In addition to the GEW, signatories to the position paper include the DGB, ver.di, the Federal Conference of Women and Equal Opportunities Representatives at Universities (bukof), the Network for Good Work in Science (NGAWiss) and the Federal Association of Doctoral Candidates…”GEW press release from August 21, 2026 toPetition on campact.org : Science: Abolish permanent employment!
  • The alliance against permanent employment in science has onePosition paper Arguments against the WissZeitVG are compiled and the model that should take its place is explained.
• Amendment in the Federal Cabinet: ver.di calls for restrictions on fixed-term contracts in science, GEW “Away with the Science Temporary Contract Act!” 
  • WissZeitVG amendment: Decided, but provisional
    “Science policy is busy in the middle of summer: The cabinet is launching the WissZeitVG amendment, the federal government is distributing the fusion hubs. Both decisions create clarity - and only postpone some conflicts into the next round.
    JULY 29th was an astonishingly lively day in terms of science policy. The federal capital alternated between the parliamentary summer break and the debate about Friedrich Merz's carousel, but Dorothee Bär's Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space put two projects on the agenda that had previously been discussed and argued about for months: the federal cabinet decided in the morningthe amendment to the Science Temporary Contract Act , shortly afterwards the three new fusion hubs were presented.First the wait for the WissZeitVG draft bill kept the university scene busy, then the debate about its content. At the same time, the sometimes fierce competition between countries to promote mergers made headlines. And now, in the blind spot of the summer break and government reshuffle, the provisional conclusion of both debates. However, only the temporary one, mind you…”Overview from July 29, 2026 in the Wiarda blog 
  • ver.di calls for restrictions on fixed-term contracts in science
    “With a view to the amendment to the Science Temporary Contract Act that will be presented to the Federal Cabinet on Wednesday (July 29, 2026), the United Services Union (ver.di) is calling for significant improvements. “Germany needs to become more attractive for scientists, but the federal government is not even trying to establish long-term employment prospects in science for those with doctorates,” criticized ver.di federal board member Sylvia Bühler. When it comes to fixed-term contracts after completing your doctorate, everything should remain the same. "In this way, Research Minister Dorothee Bär is actually driving scientists out of universities and research institutions. The legislative process urgently needs to be improved here."
    In the so-called postdoc phase, employment contracts may be limited for up to six years. The traffic light government wanted to shorten this significantly and offer prospects for permanent follow-up contracts, but ultimately was unable to come to an agreement. The topic is simply left out of the current draft bill. “It may make sense to limit employment contracts during your doctorate, but this has to stop after you graduate,” emphasized Bühler. "Long-term contracts are bad for the scientists affected. But they also damage the quality of research and teaching." The Science Council also made this clear last year with its highly regarded position paper. The so-called tariff freeze, which restricts the conclusion of collective agreements on the subject, should also continue to exist. “The minister remains inactive when it comes to fixed-term employment issues and at the same time prevents employers and we as a union from being able to make regulations together,” criticized Bühler. “This restriction on collective bargaining autonomy should be deleted without replacement.”
    Merely tackling the planned minimum contract terms and prioritizing qualifications over third-party funding ignores the biggest problem, according to the trade unionist, namely the massive use of fixed-term contracts in science. “The Bundestag is in demand here.”ver.di press release from July 28, 2026 
  • GEW: “Away with the Science Temporary Contract Act!”
    “Education union criticizes cabinet decision to reform fixed-term employment law
    The Education and Science Union (GEW) has criticized the Federal Cabinet's decision expected today to reform the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG). "More and more temporary contracts with ever shorter terms - the hire-and-fire principle is having a happy origin at universities and research institutions. With the WissZeitVG, which came into force in 2007, employers have an instrument with which they can hire and fire scientists with virtually no limit. Instead of continuing to tinker with the law, the government and parliament should now come clean, normalize labor law in science and abolish the law," demands Andreas Keller, GEW Board Member for University and Research.
    The WissZeitVG has turned the principles of labor law in universities and research “upside down,” explains Keller. "It has made fixed-term employment the rule and permanent employment the exception. Four out of five scientists without a professorship are fobbed off with temporary contracts. The average contract term is 18 months at universities and 15 months at universities of applied sciences. This is not only unfair to those affected, but also undermines the continuity and thus quality of research and teaching. The legislature must therefore revoke employers' license to grant permanent employment contracts," says Keller. The GEW university expert described the bill before the federal cabinet as a “helpless attempt” to contain the practice of fixed-term employment “through should and can provisions”. “This affects the specifications for contract terms as well as regulations for compensating for disadvantages…”GEW press release from July 29, 2026 
  • See also for background:The federal government's “reform package” extends the unfounded time limit to four years and can be extended six times - without any obligation to submit it in writing
• Draft bill for the WissZeitVG: Federal government avoids real reforms – “‘Traffic light’ is not a recipe for the abuse of fixed-term employment contracts”
  • WissZeitVG: BMFTR presents draft bill - Dorothee Bär's ministry presents its eagerly awaited amendment to the Science Temporary Contract Act
    "There is a lot in it from the old traffic light package, but there is a gap that most people had expected. (...) The traffic light already agreed that they wanted to curb short-term fixed-term contracts by ensuring that initial contracts should generally run for at least three years before the doctorate and at least two years after the doctorate. This is now also what it says in the draft from Dorothee Bär's BMFTR. Just like the binding priority of the qualification limitation over the third-party funding limitation, so that a In the future, third-party funding should only be possible after the maximum duration of the qualification period has been exhausted. The result: minimum terms as well as protection and extension rules, for example in the case of maternity leave, parental leave or illness, would apply to all young scientists in the future. The list of changes adopted is even longer and includes the introduction of a nursing component and the harmonization of the legal framework for research doctors Auxiliary staff from six to eight years was already included in the draft that went through the Ampel Cabinet in March 2024 - and then got stuck in Parliament. The crucial difference concerns exactly the point on which the Ampel science politicians, accompanied by pressure from parts of the scientific community, had divided: the postdoctoral term. The Ampel Cabinet decision contained a reduction in the regular maximum term from six to four years, with up to two more years should be possible in the case of a so-called follow-up promise - the promise of a subsequent permanent contract if previously agreed goals are achieved.There had been the biggest dispute in the previous months over this “4+2” logic; the SPD and the Greens considered this regulation to be inadequate and wanted to renegotiate in the parliamentary process; the FDP clearly had little desire for further restrictions. (…) What the BMFTR draft bill now provides for: The “4+2” model of the traffic light disappears completely, as does the connection promise, and even the limited easing of the so-called tariff freeze already contained in the traffic light cabinet decision does not appear again in the new draft. Instead, a qualification limitation period of up to six years will apply to doctoral graduates, as before. At the same time, however, the previous option to exclude unused limitation periods from the contract will no longer apply The new draft also sets the tone differently in other areas. The extension to eight years is retained for student assistants, but the minimum contract period of usually one year provided for in the traffic light draft is new: that is, that assistantships during studies should not conflict with a later, unfounded fixed-term contract WissZeitVG is intended to set the framework, but science should organize the cultural change towards new personnel categories, more permeability and more permanent positions - supported with additional programs. Whether that is enough will be the central political question of the coming hearings.There is only one thing that should not be repeated, and that seems to unite the coalition partners Union and SPD: that in the end, those improvements whose value no one disputes will be lost in the dispute over the postdoc's time limit. The law must come now.” Post from May 28, 2026 in 'The WIARDA Blog' 
  • GEW: “‘Traffic light’ is not a recipe against abuse of fixed-term employment contracts”
    “The Education and Science Union (GEW) has expressed its disappointment with the draft bill for an amendment to the Science Temporary Contract Act presented by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR). “Essentially, it is a watered-down copy of the bill by then Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP), which failed resoundingly in 2024 - with one central difference: predictable prospects for postdocs through permanent positions or at least an obligation to make commitments after a transition period are no longer an issue at all - although just a year ago the Science Council, in which the BMFTR also has a seat and vote, called for significantly more permanent positions in addition to professorships," said Andreas Keller, GEW board member for universities and research, on Friday in Frankfurt am Main. "If Research Minister Dorothee Bär (CSU) has her way, universities and research institutions should continue to be able to hire and fire scientists with doctorates at will. 'Traffic light' is not a recipe for the abuse of fixed-term contracts in science." (…)
    From the GEW's point of view, the WissZeitVG as a whole deserves to be examined. "More and more temporary contracts, far too short contract periods, long and rocky career paths, a lack of equal opportunities in academic careers - things cannot continue like this. Instead of continuing to tamper with the WissZeitVG, the abolition of the special fixed-term law for universities and research institutions and thus the normalization of labor law for scientists would be the logical solution," Keller warned in conclusion.”GEW-PM from May 29, 2026 
  • WissZeitVG amendment: Federal government avoids real reforms
    “The draft bill presented yesterday afternoon by the BMFTR to amend the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) falls far short of the requirements for fair working and study conditions. The draft shows a lack of courage, leaves the most pressing problems of mid-level academics and student employees unsolved and does not clarify the question of the extension allowance, the collective bargaining agreement and the change in the maximum duration of the fixed-term contract.
    Student employees need binding protection instead of lip service
    “The fact that the maximum fixed-term period for student employees (SHKs) is being raised from six to eight years is well-intentioned, but it ignores reality: nobody wants to be a SHK permanently, the limit is meaningless,” criticizes Maximilian Wimmer, consultant for good teaching and working conditions at universities in the fzs. Since SHK contracts are tied to studies, this measure largely falls flat. “However, the elimination of the target regulation for a minimum contract term of one year, which was already negotiated in 2024, is completely unacceptable. It has been shown that the universities hardly implement the corresponding contractual agreement; legal support would be needed here,” continued Wimmer. The free association of student organizations (fzs) urgently requires a legal minimum contract term of two years. Previous contractual agreements are not consistently implemented in practice, which is why only legal pressure can end exploitation. The “target regulation” would leave sufficient room for justified exceptions.
    The current study “Young, academic, (still) precarious” shows how urgently necessary such binding regulations are: Student employees work on average for 21.5 months in their position and already sign an average of 2.6 employment contracts - 36.1 percent even three or more contracts in the same position. Student employment is not a short-term fringe activity, but is permanently integrated into the university structures, albeit under precarious conditions…”fzs-PM from May 29, 2026 
• “Permanent positions for permanent tasks” receives approval from the Science Council: “Science needs modern personnel structures and more permanent positions”
  • Science Council gives impetus for a cultural change: Science needs modern personnel structures and more permanent positions
    “The Science Council (WR) is calling for a fundamental reform of the personnel structures in the German science system. The goal is to create attractive, diverse positions with clearly structured development options that strengthen scientific institutions in the competition for skilled workers and in international competition. What is needed is a personnel structure that meets the increasingly differentiated demands on and from science and offers attractive permanent positions in addition to professorships…”Press release and position paper at the Science Council 
  • Position paper from the Science Council on personnel structures: “Tailwind for GEW campaign for permanent positions for permanent tasks”
    “The Education and Science Union (GEW) welcomed the Science Council's position paper “Personnel Structures for the Science System” published today and called on the federal and state governments, universities and research institutions to systematically tackle the long-overdue reform in order to ensure permanent positions for permanent tasks, reliable career paths and equal opportunities for everyone in science. “Now there are no more excuses, the federal government must put the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) to the test, the states must reform their university laws, universities and research institutions must develop and implement permanent position concepts,” said Andreas Keller, GEW board member for universities and research. (…) The Science Council has formulated “essentially correct” conclusions for a reform of the personnel structure in science, Keller stated. The council advocates a clear distinction between permanent tasks and qualification tasks and is in favor of permanent positions for permanent tasks, Keller continued. There must also be enough permanent, attractive positions in addition to the professorship. The Council clearly rejects the traditional chair principle and recommends the introduction of departments in which scientists with and without professorships work together on an equal footing. He names the consistent promotion of gender equality and the consideration of diversity dimensions as central prerequisites for a personnel structure reform. The Science Council is even calling for significantly more permanent employment relationships for third-party funded positions. (…)
    Keller would have liked to have had more courage in formulating the recommendations for the reorganization of the postdoc phase. The Science Council criticizes the “excessive use” of the qualification limitation and the “extension” of the postdoc phase and advocates generally permanent employment after two to a maximum of three years. “This is progress compared to the debate about the failed WissZeitVG reform in the last electoral term, in which corresponding proposals from the SPD were blocked by the then FDP research minister,” acknowledged Keller. From the GEW's point of view, there should be no qualification restrictions at all for scientists with doctorates. “We need permanent positions for postdocs!” Keller demanded. This necessarily follows from the European Qualifications Framework, the highest level of competence for which is a doctorate, as the Science Council itself points out.
    The GEW university expert was disappointed with the Science Council's considerations on the implementation of the personnel structure reform. The Council relies primarily on universities and research institutions, and only assigns the federal and state governments an “initiating” and “moderating” role…”GEW press release from July 14, 2025 
• Bitter for #IchbinHanna: Federal Constitutional Court overturns Berlin's postdoc regulation due to lack of legislative competence - the federal government must now ensure permanent positions in science
  • Federal Constitutional Court against Berlin Higher Education Act: Fixed-term rule violates academic freedom
    “A Berlin law should oblige universities to employ young scientists on a permanent basis. The Humboldt University considered this unconstitutional and was now right.
    The fixed-term regulation for academic employees with doctorates anchored in the Berlin Higher Education Act is unconstitutional. According to one, the Federal Constitutional Court decided thisdecision published on Wednesday . Accordingly, the passage is incompatible with the fundamental right to academic freedom. In addition, the state of Berlin lacks the necessary legislative competence. The corresponding constitutional complaint from the Humboldt University (HU) in Karlsruhe was successful. (…) Furthermore, the state of Berlin has no legislative authority in the matter. In this case, it is not the state of Berlin that is responsible for labor law, but rather the federal government; This has already created a regulation with the Science Temporary Contract Act. Accordingly, universities can limit the employment contracts of postdocs…”Report from July 10, 2025 in the Spiegel online 
  • “Permanent positions in science – now the ball is in the federal government’s court!”
    “The Education and Science Union (GEW) has called on the Bundestag and the Federal Government to quickly draw conclusions from the decision announced today by the Federal Constitutional Court on the “postdoc regulation” in the Berlin Higher Education Act (BerlHG). "The ball is now in the federal government's court. It is up to the federal government to set the course for permanent positions for permanent tasks in universities and research on the basis of a watertight federal regulation," said GEW board member and university expert Andreas Keller. The Federal Constitutional Court had declared Section 110 Paragraph 6 of the BerlHG, which only allows fixed-term employment contracts with doctoral researchers at Berlin universities if they are given the prospect of a permanent term, to be unconstitutional. Keller criticized that it was regrettable that Karlsruhe was setting strict limits for the states when it came to the long-overdue reform of career paths and improvement of employment conditions in science. "The decision is based on a questionable understanding of academic freedom. Not only universities as employers contribute to academic freedom, but also and above all the researchers and teachers themselves, who suffer from temporary contracts," said Keller.
    The GEW university expert called for a normalization of labor law in science by abolishing the Science Temporary Contract Act, or at least a deletion of the collective bargaining agreement contained therein. (…) In the end, with this unrestricted fixed-term practice, the continuity and quality of research and teaching fall by the wayside. Things can't go on like this! The federal government must now tackle the reform of the fixed-term law for science promised by the Union and the SPD.”GEW press release from July 10, 2025 
• Quo vadis WissZeitVG? Seven questions and answers about the Science Temporary Contract Act 
  “The Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) only has eight paragraphs, but for many it is a closed book. (…)
  1. Why and since when does the WissZeitVG exist? The WissZeitVG came into force in 2007 under the first cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), a grand coalition, and was amended in 2016 and 2020. The law is a special law on fixed-term contracts for science, which gives universities and research institutions extensive options for limiting employment contracts with employed scientists, with the exception of university lecturers. These can be employed for a fixed-term period of six years before completing their doctorate, another six years after completing their doctorate, and in medicine even nine years. The maximum period of employment is extended if scientists look after children, are disabled or chronically ill, or were employed during the corona pandemic. In addition, fixed-term employment contracts can be concluded at any time and for a practically unlimited period if an employment relationship is predominantly financed by third parties. (…) Until 2002, §§57a to 57f HRG provided for a fixed-term contract that was formally linked to factual reasons with a maximum duration of only five years, without distinguishing between the doctoral and postdoc phases. (…) In 2002, under the first cabinet of Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD), a red-green coalition with a social democrat, Edelgard Bulmahn, as education and research minister, as part of an amendment to the HRG, there was a paradigm shift in fixed-term employment law towards unfounded fixed-term employment with maximum fixed-term limits of six plus six years, which was incorporated into the WissZeitVG and still shapes it today. (…)
  2. What effects does the WissZeitVG have? More and more temporary contracts with ever shorter terms - these are the consequences of the WissZeitVG, which gives employers in science - universities and research institutions - the legal tools to repeatedly limit employment contracts with scientists for almost no reason and almost indefinitely. (…)
  3. What did the WissZeitVG amendment from 2016 bring? Under the pressure of the GEW actions, the German Bundestag passed a reform of the WissZeitVG in December 2015 under the third cabinet of Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU), a grand coalition, which came into force in 2016 and took up important impulses from the GEW campaign. The principle of fixed-term contracts without any objective reason was restricted to the extent that time-limits must serve qualification purposes or, as before, are due to the objective reason of third-party funding. From now on, the duration of qualification contracts should be “appropriate”, while the duration of third-party funding contracts should be based on the project duration. The science support staff has been completely removed from the scope of the law, and even in the case of third-party funding, fixed-term contracts for administrative or laboratory employees can no longer be based on the WissZeitVG. (…) The essential goals of the WissZeitVG amendment were missed; it was unable to curb improper fixed-term contracts or short-term fixed-term contracts.
  4. Why is a better WissZeitVG reform overdue? The traffic light coalition was now under particular pressure to counteract the grievances and to implement the agreement made in the 2021 coalition agreement to create “permanent positions for permanent tasks” through a reform of the WissZeitVG. (…) With the Dresden bill, the GEW wanted to provide a blueprint for the amendment to the law pending in the Bundestag. (…)
  5. Why would the traffic light's WissZeitVG reform plans be a worsening improvement? (…) In its draft law, the BMBF adheres to the controversial collective bargaining freeze, which prohibits employers and unions from negotiating fixed-term regulations that deviate from the law through a collective agreement - apart from half-hearted relaxations. The collective bargaining partners should only be able to make regulations that deviate from the law on individual issues and in some cases within specified ranges. (…)
  6. Can a WissZeitVG reform actually create more permanent positions? "Now some will say: Well, the Science Temporary Contract Act, that doesn't create any additional positions. - Yes, it can't do that at all," said Federal Education and Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) on October 16, 2024 in the Bundestag debate (...) Nevertheless, it is true that a legal reform would be complete if it were accompanied by further political measures, such as a permanent employment offensive through a Federal-state permanent position program, which the Finance Committee of the Bundestag asked Minister Stark-Watzinger to undertake in 2023. In summary: A WissZeitVG reform is not everything, but without it everything is nothing.
  7. What happens next after the traffic light coalition breaks? (…) On the one hand, it can be said that the WissZeitVG reform project, which was anchored in the coalition agreement three years ago, failed like many other projects. On the other hand, there remains pressure in the cauldron in that politicians cannot sit back after a half-baked reform and wait for the next evaluation after the federal election after next. The next federal election will probably take place in March 2025 at the latest and it is the task of trade unions, BdWi, mid-level initiatives and employee representatives to keep the issue of temporary contracts and career paths in science so virulent that it finds its way into the election programs of the democratic parties. Explanations by Andreas Keller in the Science Forum on January 9, 2025 in advance on Linksnet 
• Hanna was not on the guest list: “The young people” only appeared in verbal contributions at the Bundestag hearing on the Science Temporary Contract Act
  “Because the “experts” who appeared were predominantly representatives of only one side. How could this come about?
  On November 13, 2024, the Bundestag's Education Committee heard experts on the amendment to the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG). The BMBF's so-called stakeholder process to amend the WissZeitVG has been running since summer 2022. The remaining federal government no longer has the majority to pass an amendment that could even partially fulfill the promises of the coalition agreement. The hearing nevertheless offered insights - less into the problems of "#IchbinHanna" and more into science policy: an expert hearing in which hardly any experts in the matter at hand were heard, but almost only stakeholders from one side; Members of the Bundestag who are afraid to intervene as legislators in a conflict to protect employees and science. Wolfgang Wick, the chairman of the Science Council, and Sonja Bolenius, the DGB representative, were the only real experts in the group. (…) How can the factions’ invitation decisions be explained? Are the majority of MPs so afraid of the reaction of universities and non-university research institutions if the comprehensive fixed-term options are to be affected? One thing is certain: Consensus-oriented politics cannot work in a situation in which one side, “#Ichbinhanna”, which is difficult to organize, is fighting for its material and ideal existence, and the other side can use its extensive resources to maintain a personnel management tool that is detrimental to the cause - science - but is dear. Here the legislature is required to design labor law differently.The MPs have so far been unable to control employers in science with offers such as the tenure track program. That's why the crucial moment in the hearing was when Holger Mann from the SPD remarked: "We only have a negligible proportion of scientists in permanent positions. If we assume our responsibility as federal legislators for labor law and [...] push for a) either negotiations between the collective bargaining partners, which would then make individual solutions possible, or b) but say, we expect that appropriate employment relationships will also exist in a public sector that would be funded 90 percent of the time. Whether you don't believe it, that […] this step is needed at some point now?” No employer representative wanted to respond. But Holger Mann's question can also be addressed to the CDU/CSU and especially to the Greens: Taking responsibility does not mean giving up the field in advance obedience to employers, but rather specifically changing the WissZeitVG..." Guest article by Lisa Janotta, Thomas Kirchner and Álvaro Morcillo from November 26, 2024 at jmwiarda.de 
• Deadline or die! Temporary contracts at universities: opportunities for better working conditions have disappeared. 
  “Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) - a word monster, as long and tough as the dispute over a reform of it. And the hanging game continues. As of Wednesday, it has been pretty certain that those affected will have to wait an indefinite period of time for permanent positions at universities and research institutions. At a hearing in the Bundestag's Education Committee, the invited experts' reservations about the government draft were still so great that a final parliamentary decision can no longer be expected before the upcoming new elections. Worse still: With a new government in the foreseeable future, presumably under the leadership of the Union, a solution in the interests of the employees is likely to become very distant again.
  The Education and Science Union (GEW) is aware of the danger. “The SPD, the Greens, the Union, the Left and the BSW should jump over their shadows, brush the proposal of the former FDP minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger thoroughly against the grain and set the course for permanent positions for permanent tasks, minimum terms for temporary contracts and reliable prospects for postdocs,” warned deputy chairman Andreas Keller in an interview with Junge Welt on Thursday…”Article by Ralf Wurzbacher in the Junge Welt from November 15, 2024 
• GEW and ver.di at the hearing in the Bundestag Committee on Education and Research: “Reform the Science Temporary Contract Act now – and do it correctly!”
  • GEW: “Reform the Academic Temporary Contract Act now – and do it correctly!”
    “The Education and Science Union (GEW) has called on the Bundestag to pass the pending reform of the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) before the expected new federal elections. "The problems have been known for years and cannot be postponed: more and more temporary contracts with ever shorter terms in science, long and unpredictable career paths. This is not only indecent towards highly qualified scientists, but also undermines the quality of teaching and research as well as the attractiveness of the university and research workplaces. It would be fatal if the upcoming reform was postponed until the next electoral term. The MPs should now get their act together and thoroughly revise the current draft law before the Federal President dissolves Parliament,” said Andreas Keller, deputy GEW chairman and university expert, with a view to today’s hearing in the Bundestag Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment. Keller highlighted three points in which the GEW sees a clear need for improvement. "Firstly, the unsuccessful new regulation of the postdoctoral term must be turned from its head to its feet. Doctoral researchers must be given a promise of permanent employment right from the start and not only vaguely promised after four years. Secondly, the minimum contract terms of three years for doctoral students must be increased to at least four years and made binding.Thirdly, both employers and unions as well as the states must have the opportunity to set better fixed-term regulations for employees: away with the collective agreement freeze and in with the state opening clause,” emphasized the GEW vice president.“GEW press release from November 13, 2024 
  • The German Federation of Trade Unions (DGB), the United Services Union (ver.di) and the GEW will have a hearing in the Bundestag Committee on Education, Research and Technology Assessment on November 8, 2024submitted a joint statement 
  • Meeting on the #WissZeitVGWatch live andReporting by Amrei Bahr on bsky 
  • Mail to the Bundestag:
    “In the next few weeks it will be decided whether and how the law on fixed-term employment in science will be reformed. ver.di has clear requirements. (… ) The first reading of the bill in the Bundestag made it clear that there is still a lot of need for discussion between the government factions. On November 13th, the parliamentary deliberations will enter the hot phase with an expert hearing. Negotiations will take place in the weeks that follow.Ver.di's expectations are on the table, we say in a position paper: Stop the fixed-term obsession
    Over 65,000 people supported the union's core demands in a petition: 65,000 against permanent employment. Now it's the MPs' turn.”Article from November 4th, 2024 at ver.di Health, Social Services, Education and Science 
• Debate about the state opening clause in the WissZeitVG - negative facts from the Berlin Senate by rolling backwards in the fixed-term regulation in the Berlin Higher Education Act 
  • Berlin: Senate buries permanent tenure – postdoctoral researchers should not be permanently employed at universities
    "The Senate Science Administration is making a 180-degree turnaround - to the detriment of many young academics: The fixed-term regulation for postdoctoral researchers in the Berlin Higher Education Act should no longer be pursued. They want to "refrain from" the regulation, a spokesman for the Senate Administration told "Table Media" on Tuesday. The regulation set out in paragraph 110, paragraph 6 was actually intended to improve the working conditions for young scientists: All employees with a doctorate should therefore have a permanent position The regulation was passed in 2021 by the then red-red-green coalition - despite strong criticism from the current ruling party, the CDU. Last year, the Senate administration announced that it wanted to postpone the entry into force of the regulation by one year to 2025 Czyborra (SPD) was originally one of the MPs who initiated the project in the first place. (...) Criticism of the senator's about-face comes from. "An unpleasant change in the law is being shot down," says Tobias Schulze, science policy spokesman for the Left Party, to "nd". Schulze is convinced that it would hold up in court.Schulze does not see the new job categories as an adequate alternative to general permanent employment. These are “useless”. Because they are not mandatory for universities, they will hardly be used in the future, he predicts. “Nothing will happen voluntarily,” says Schulze. Temporary positions are “more convenient” for professors. The abolition of the fixed-term contract could cause serious damage to science in Berlin: “Many young talent will now leave Berlin,” warns Schulze.” Article by Marten Brehmer from October 23, 2024 in New Germany online 
  • Berlin Senate is endangering reliable career paths in science - fixed-term regulations in the Berlin Higher Education Act should be overturned
    “The Senate Department for Science, Health and Nursing is planning a backwards role in the mandatory permanent dismissal of scientific employees. With a nationwide reform of the Berlin Higher Education Act (BerlHG), the previous Senate stipulated that scientific employees with doctorates (post-docs) must be offered a permanent employment contract if the qualification goal specified in the employment contract has been achieved. This reform represents an important step in reducing precarious working conditions in the middle management sector. It also represents an important component in the democratization of universities, as fixed-term contracts lead to a high level of dependence of post-docs on their superiors. It is not for nothing that stricter regulations apply outside of science regarding the possibility of fixed-term contracts. At a meeting of the “Good Work at Berlin Universities” forum, the Senate administration surprisingly announced that it was planning to weaken the Berlin Higher Education Act on this point. (…) "Even in the hearing in the 2023 Science Committee, after which the original introduction date was postponed from 2023 to 2025, the SPD asserted that the new coalition needed more time for a good implementation of §110 (6), but did not fundamentally question the regulation. The Science Senate under Senator Czyborra is now attacking the future prospects of the post-docs and thus the long-term commitment highly qualified scientists are at risk is not acceptable…”Press release from October 18, 2024 from the ver.di regional district of Berlin-Brandenburg 
  • On the announced weakening of Section 110 (6) of the Berlin Higher Education Act and its consequences
    “At the meeting of the forum “Good Work at Berlin Universities” on October 15, 2024, State Secretary for Science Dr. Marx announced, completely unexpectedly, that the mandatory permanent employment of scientists with doctorates is up for grabs. Due to alleged legal uncertainties, the implementation of Section 110 Paragraph 6 of the Berlin Higher Education Act should not be pursued further. This would overturn one of the central and nationwide reform projects of the Berlin Higher Education Act (BerlHG), which was passed on September 14, 2021. (…) The meeting of the forum “Good work at Berlin universities” on October 15, 2024 should make a decisive contribution to the implementation of Section 110 Paragraph 6 BerlHG from April 1, 2025. With the now announced move away from the mandatory permanent employment of scientists with doctorates, the SPD-led Senate Science Administration is not only giving in to its coalition partner CDU and the conservative professorial forces at the universities. In doing so, it also demotes the “Forum for Good Work at Berlin Universities” to a non-binding discussion group. /…) We – as employee representatives in the Good Work Forum – view this departure from Section 110 (6) with great concern. After more than three years, all efforts to create more attractive and long-term employment relationships alongside the professorship are to be destroyed. This is absolutely unacceptable.State Secretary Marx cited the fact that the Senate Science Administration had come to the conclusion that the regulation of Section 110 (6) was not legally secure as a major reason for abandoning Section 110 (6) of the BerlHG. We cannot understand this reasoning. (…) We therefore call on the political leadership of the Senate Science Administration to maintain and implement Section 110 Paragraph 6 of the Berlin Higher Education Act without any ifs and buts and to finally pave the way for attractive permanent employment relationships in science alongside the professorship. Create conditions for success for further constructive cooperation in the forum and for the implementation of § 110 (6)!“Joint statement dated October 24, 2024 the employee representatives in the forum “Good work at Berlin universities” at the vber.di Berlin-Brandenburg regional district
  • Country opening clause in the WissZeitVG: Enabling instead of blocking!
    "In ten days it will be the fourth anniversary of the predecessor initiative of #IchBinHanna: On Reformation Day in 2020, Kristin Eichhorn, Sebastian Kubon and I suggested on Twitter to collect 95 theses against the Science Temporary Contract Act under the hashtag #95vsWissZeitVG. We distilled the numerous tweets into 95 theses and (...) documented them. The community that came together at the time then also #IchBinHanna has changed a lot since October 2020. The discussion about working conditions in the German academic system, but also about its other problems and disincentives, has now become generally accepted; hardly anyone will deny that things cannot remain as they are now. However, in October 2020 we would certainly not have dreamed that four years later there would still be no reformed WissZeitVG. (…) Since Saturday, another proposal has been on the table that has the potential to move the deadlocked debate towards the home stretch of a constructive solution: the state opening clause. The proposal comes from Tobias Rosefeldt, philosophy professor at the HU Berlin, who has been campaigning for improvements in working conditions in science for years.What is the country opening clause all about - and why is the proposal so promising? (…) In his statement, Tobias Rosefeldt writes on the state opening clause: "I would like to suggest that the law contains a state opening clause, which explicitly allows the federal states to regulate temporary employment at their universities and research institutions through further measures that are currently not capable of approval at the federal level. Such measures could include shorter maximum fixed-term durations, the obligation to have earlier affiliation agreements, models with a mid-level tenure track or maximum quotas for the share temporary employment.” Here it becomes clear what the idea behind the clause is: viable instruments for improving working conditions, which are already an integral part of the debate, but which have not yet found their way into the WissZeitVG draft (or, in the case of the follow-up promise, in an unsuitable form), could be taken up by the federal states. In this way, a country opening clause would give the countries the opportunity to make suitable regulations themselves in order to improve the situation of #IchBinHanna. (…) It is now not only generally recognized that there is an urgent need for viable solutions to improve scientific working conditions - some concrete proposals have also been developed. These include, above all, a sufficiently early confirmation of connection and the maximum fixed-term quota, both of which Rosefeldt mentions in his statement. It would be a big mistake not to include these instruments in the new WissZeitVG.A mistake that German science would pay for with its attractiveness as an employer and that would massively harm both it and its employees. If they are not integrated into the new WissZeitVG, the minimum would be to give the federal states the opportunity to implement these instruments on their own - with a corresponding state opening clause, in addition to the abolition of the tariff freeze, not as an alternative. It is hoped that members of the Education Committee will recognize the potential of such a clause. Because if the WissZeitVG reform ends up replacing a bad regulation with a bad one in another way, one thing is certain: the #IchBinHanna debate will continue - until something has really changed for the better. Post by Amrei Bahr from October 22, 2024 in the blog 'Work in Science' 
• Bundestag debate on the Science Temporary Contract Act and temporary contracts in science: Traffic light must comprehensively revise the WissZeitVG
  • GEW: “Temporary contracts in science: Traffic lights must now show their colors!”
    “The Education and Science Union (GEW) has called on the traffic light coalition to comprehensively revise the current draft law for a reform of the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) in the parliamentary deliberations starting today. "More and more temporary contracts with ever shorter terms - this is not only at the expense of the scientists, but also damages the continuity and thus the quality of teaching and research. The draft law presented by Federal Research Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger (FDP) only provides for minimal improvements, which are also counteracted by a deterioration in the prospects of postdocs. Instead of making the WissZeitVG worse, the Bundestag must act as an uninhibited one "Finally put a stop to fixed-term practice in science," said Andreas Keller, deputy GEW chairman and university expert, on Wednesday in Frankfurt a.M. He noted that the draft law fell far short of the expectations that the traffic light had raised in their coalition agreement. (…) The German Bundestag is today discussing the draft law for a WissZeitVG reform in its first reading, which will then be discussed in the committees.The GEW has submitted a comprehensive statement on the draft law . This also contains a synopsis that compares the current legal text, the planned changes and the GEW's criticism. “Press release from October 15, 2024 
  • Final spurt with creative will: Use the WissZeitVG reform as an opportunity!
    “…A lot has been written about what Germany will lose as a science location if the WissZeitVG reform promised by the traffic light government to improve career paths fails - by me and many others. Today I would like to focus on something else: on the question of what there is to gain if this reform does succeed through the parliamentary process. The answer is: a sustainable science system that, even in times of skilled labor shortages, is such an attractive working environment that a sufficient number of really good people can be recruited. People with diverse profiles, backgrounds and realities of life who are no longer plagued by fears about the future and existential worries, but can concentrate fully on their work. At the same time, they enrich German science through diversity.
    A well-reformed WissZeitVG ensures that the expertise that scientists have been able to build and expand with the help of public funding benefits society in the long term. That these people can simply do a good job in research and teaching, instead of constantly bending over backwards and serving all the possible false incentives of the system (publish or perish, etc.). If the time limit clock is no longer constantly ticking and the sword of Damocles of the end of a career is no longer hanging over them, scientists can courageously communicate their insights and research results publicly and effectively in the interest of the common good, without having to fear that this could damage their careers. And last but not least: A good WissZeitVG reform ensures that scientists at all career levels can have the confidence to actively participate in tackling the mammoth task of saving our democracy. Insecure employment makes those in it even more (and unnecessarily) vulnerable — and therefore makes it more difficult to muster the courage that is urgently needed to protect our democracy.
    A viable WissZeitVG reform would make the German science system much, much better. First of all, for those who work in it:..”Post by Amrei Bahr from October 15, 2024 on her blog Work in Science
• A call for a fundamental redesign of academic job structures 
  "To create healthy job and career structures in science, a reform of the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) is not enough. You have to be prepared to think much further beyond the existing system and the paths established within it. A lot has happened since I initiated the campaigns "#95vsWissZeitVG" and "#IchBinHanna" together with Amrei Bahr and Sebastian Kubon (then still on Twitter, now X). The starting point for the criticism at the time was the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG), which creates a comprehensive special right to fixed-term contracts in science: with the argument that the majority (!) of scientific staff are still in the process of obtaining their qualifications, research and teaching are busy using fixed-term contracts to an extent that would simply not be legal in other areas. Lifetime professorships now only make up a good tenth of the academic staff, while there are also a few permanent positions. All others are on temporary positions either with the argument of “qualification” or through third-party funded projects. The result: Contracts keep expiring and people are constantly busy looking for the next job. This can go on until the fifth decade of life - and if there is no permanent termination (which is likely for many people), there is a risk of forced professional reorientation. (…) I have already explained what can be done in various places. In fact, there are concepts from several universities that avowedly aim to redesign the job structure in science so that better working conditions and earlier planning become the norm.To do this, however, you have to be prepared to think beyond the existing system and the paths established there. (…) In other words, we need positions where people can develop further - even if they are not temporary positions! The fact that these two aspects - time limits and further development - are so closely linked in the science system, as if one could not exist without the other, is what leads to many of the problems we currently have. (…) In the same way, you have to think about reforms regarding professorships in general. (…) Another factor that needs to be taken into account in order to make the overall system more competitive and agile is the duration of appeal procedures. Even if it progresses quickly, this is almost never less than one and a half to two years due to various requirements. That is simply too long for an application process. (…) So it's about much more than the WissZeitVG and the job categories besides the professorship. We must tackle the major reform processes in order to create a system in the medium term that allows for greater clarity and eliminates the undesirable developments that have arisen in recent years and decades. This is not an easy task. But if you know the problems, you can tackle them piecemeal.” Essay by Kristin Eichhorn from July 22, 2024 at LaborJournal 
• Because of more expensive. There is a permanent position model that does not require higher budgets and does not lead to staff cuts
  • Because of more expensive
    “Potsdam University President Oliver Günther argues that significantly more permanent positions in science and thus significantly better career opportunities would cost many billions more. But that's not true at all.
    IT IS PLEASANT to now hear from Mr. Günther, as well as from many other university management, the admission that the uncertainty between a doctorate and a professorship is “particularly extreme” in Germany, which is why the frustration of scientists in Germany is particularly great. And it's good that Mr. Günther also wants to counteract these poor career prospects. In his guest article in the Wiarda blog, in addition to the possibility of reducing the number of doctoral positions, which I will discuss later, he only sees the possibility of making significantly more money available to universities. In doing so, he follows the argument that is common, particularly among university management: We would be happy to create more permanent positions if we were provided with the additional money necessary for this. This makes one act as if it were sufficient to simply graft a good system onto a dysfunctional one. On this basis, Mr. Günther calculates what it would cost to create so many additional positions that the probability of obtaining a permanent position at some point after completing a doctorate would double, and he arrives at a considerable sum. 
    A permanent position model that does not require higher budgets and does not lead to staff cuts
    Coincidentally, they also leadCalculations , which colleagues and I recently presented on the possible replacement of the fixed-term employment regime with a model with permanent lecturer positions, on what Mr. Günther is striving for: a doubling of the chances for aspiring scientists to achieve a permanent position after the doctoral phase. However, our model does not require any higher budgets for the universities - and it works without noticeably reducing the number of staff in university operations. Even though we proceeded differently than Mr. Günther in our calculations regarding the status quo, we came to a very similar conclusion to his: The current chances of a permanent position in science for doctoral students are twelve percent. What is much more important, however, is how these probabilities are distributed. According to our calculations, the probability of taking up a temporary postdoc position after completing your doctorate is 32 percent…” ExtensiveReply from Mathias Kuhnt from June 26, 2024 in Jan-Martin Wiarda's blog on:
  • Tenure track, six billion and a wide bottleneck
    “What would it actually mean to reconcile the demand for more permanent positions in science with the promotion of the common good? And how realistic would that be?…”Guest post by Oliver Günther from June 12, 2024 in Jan-Martin Wiarda's blog , see also:
  • In addition to the professorship and in the department model: HRK and Junge Akademie propose three permanent position categories
    "So far this year we have made little fuss about the third birthday of our #IchBinHanna initiative on June 10th. The reform of the Science Temporary Contract Act (WissZeitVG) continues to be slow; currently the Federal Ministry under Minister Stark-Watzinger is making a name for itself mainly because of the funding affair, which is tying up a large part of the science policy attention. Despite all the blockade of the BMBF and the FDP, there is a lot of movement in other areas when it comes to #IchBinHanna, and it's worth not losing sight of it. It's becoming clear again and again that our protest movement has fundamentally changed the entire discourse about academic working conditions in recent years: Hardly anyone now defends the current system, its shortcomings are only rarely disputed - and, no less pleasingly, more and more universities and institutions are setting out on their own