Co-operation agreement signed between Slovenian and German services for job placement in Germany and Slovenia

At the invitation of the Employment Service of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Jože Glazer, Director General of the Employment Service of Slovenia, and Mr. Miha Šepec, the head of the ESS department for foreign workers, participated in an official visit to the German Federal Employment Service in Nuremberg. The visit took place from 12 to 14 December 2001.

During the visit, the directors of the Slovenian and German services, Mr. Jože Glazer and Dr. Bernhard Jagoda, signed a supplemented Agreement on co-operation between both institutes for job placement in Germany and Slovenia. This agreement replaces the previous one, which had been in force since 1992. Like the previous agreement, the newly signed agreement makes employment possible in Germany for a specified number of Slovenian workers (i.e. health workers and seasonal workers), since otherwise there has been a complete ban on new employment of foreign workers since 1973. The agreement likewise designates the reciprocal co-operation of the services in the employment of German job seekers in Slovenia.

Another significant aspect of the visit to Nuremberg was the holding of talks with representatives of the German service at all levels. The visit was an opportunity for a useful exchange of information and experience in the area of employment, establishing personal contacts with upper-level representatives of the German service, and for strengthening and deepening further cooperation between both services.

The president of the German Federal Employment Service, Mr. Bernhard Jagoda, the director of the foreign relations sector, Mr. Gunther Schauenberg, and the director of the president's cabinet, Mr. Herbert Bauer, took part in talks at the highest level. Talks likewise took place with leaders at the Bavarian State Labour Office in Nuremberg and the Bamberg Labour Office.

In the course of the three-day visit, major emphasis was placed on current situation and trends in the labour market in both countries, current issues that both employment services must address in carrying out their activities and, in particular, the internal reorganisation of the German service. This reorganisation has been introduced at the level of the federal service as well as at the level of state and local labour offices. At the same time, assessments of the effects of the new organisation at the German service were submitted.

The new organisational solutions that the hosts presented are similar to those that were introduced at the Slovenian service under the new Regulations on organisation: greater clients’ satisfaction, dealing with clients in teams, more uniform workload for employees and greater transparency in jurisdiction of the management.

In their talks, the German and Slovenian sides presented the unemployment rates and structures in both countries, the social security system for the unemployed and active measures to reduce unemployment. There is a fundamental size difference between the two services, but it was nonetheless determined that the Slovenian and German services have what are, in many ways, similar systems for working with the unemployed.

Photographs taken during the visit to German Employment Service: Signing of the agreement on job placement between the Employment Services of Slovenia and Germany, The Slovenian flag in front of the German Employment Service building during the visit by representatives from the Employment Service of Slovenia