[Nettime-bold] german green card

[florian schneider <fls@kein.org>]

hi,

this piece below i found on the webserver of then german government. it
is referring to a public debate about the german version of a so called
"green card". at the occassion of the opening of this years cebit the
german cancellor schroeder had announced a special program to grant
20,000 work permissions for it specialists from non-eu-countries. facing
a tremendous shortage of staff the heads of some big companies have been
demanding less restrictions for hiring foreign work force on a
globalized labour market. for the last few weeks the german "green card"
led to heavy debates, which were turning some political assumptions
upside down. after almost 25 years of brainwashing and beating into the
people's heads: "The boat is full" and "immigration=0", from one day to
the other the german public had to realize, that the opposite is true:
employers of all lines pled for a liberalization of the labour market
and against legal restrictions for asylum seekers and migrants; on the
other side, the heads of the unions and the christian democrats were
campaigning against any new form of immigration, oftenly compared with
the acquisition of "gastarbeiter" in the sixties. very close to the
fascist slogan: "jobs for germans first!" and entering a new level of
racist propaganda the cdu of north-rine westfalia called for: "children
instead of indians (kinder statt inder)". last thursday the federal
government  passed two decrees offering a  limited work permission and
license to stay for foreign IT specialists. it is very interesting to
see the attempt to "rescue the german it sector" against the background
of another issue: the ongoing negotiations about reparations for forced
and slave labour during german fascism. i am currently collecting some
texts and i would be very interested in any further informations from
other countries. i heard about some parallel debates in the us, and
especially among unionists. thanks a lot! 
/fls


----

http://www.bundesregierung.de

Frequently asked questions and answers regarding the need for IT
specialists 

question: Who will be allowed to come to Germany under the "Green Card"
programme aimed at alleviating the current shortage of IT specialists?
Will the issuance of entry visas be limited to persons from specific
countries? 
answer: Computer specialists with university and polytechnic
qualifications, e.g. Bachelor's or Master's Degrees, will be allowed to
work in Germany for a limited period of time. Additionally, specialists
without a degree can also work here, provided the employer is willing to
pay an (anual) salary of at least 100,000.- DM. This arrangement will
apply to all job applicants from non-EU countries. There will be no
limitation to persons from any specific countries. 

question: How many IT specialists will be allowed to come to Germany?
answer: A total of 20,000 under an agreement reached between the German
federal government and the industrial associations in the information
and communications technology sector. After 10,000 work permits have
been issued a monitoring procedure is to be carried out to determine if
there is further need for computer specialists. 

question: Is the period of employment in Germany to be subject to a time
limit? 
answer: Yes. Over the medium term the need for IT specialists is to be
satisfied on the domestic labour market. The period of employment for
top-level computer specialists from abroad is to be limited to three
years with the possibility of getting an extension for up to two more
years, i.e. for a maximum total of up to five years. 

question: Will these people be allowed to bring their families with them
to Germany? 
answer: Yes. The IT specialists in question are to be granted residence
permits. Under German law residence permits entitle holders (as long as
all the other pertinent provisions of law governing foreign residents
have been complied with) to bring their families to Germany right away
or, failing that, to bring them to Germany at a later point in time. 

question: What criteria will be used for placing applicants with
companies? Are there any limits as to the number of computer specialists
a given company will be allowed to take? 
answer: Specific job offers will be registered by the Federal Employment
Agency. After checking the job specifications, proposals will be made by
the employment administration to the companies in question on the basis
of applications received. There is no limitation on the number of
computer specialists a company can hire. 

question: Who should an employer wanting to hire foreign computer
specialists turn to? How should an employer proceed who has suitable job
applicants from abroad and would like to hire them? Are there any
specific forms for this? 
answer: Prospective employers can register job offers for computer
specialists via the Internet hotline for IT professions created by the
Federal Employment Agency, which has sole responsibility for the
placement of foreign specialists. You will find the IT hotline through
which you can directly post job offers at the following web site:
http://www.arbeitsamt.de/hst/services/it_hotline/index.html. 
Here you will also find the name of the contact person at the Employment
Office responsible for your specific IT needs. You will be able to
discuss and, hopefully, resolve your personnel problems with this
person. 

question: Can foreign computer specialists already be hired under the
"Green Card" programme or will it be necessary to wait until the
requisite changes have been made in the laws governing the issuance of
work and residence permits? Can preparations for hiring computer
specialists be made now? 
answer: The Federal Employment Agency is already able to say what its
personnel requirements are. It is now checking to see whether there are
any suitable applicants from Germany or other EU countries, since they
would have to be given priority for job placement. If this is not the
case, then the first step will have been taken towards opening up the
procedure for allowing foreign computer specialists to take jobs in
Germany. 

question: Who can foreign IT specialists wanting to work in Germany turn
to? How can they document their qualifications? 
answer: Persons wanting to work in Germany should apply to the
"Zentralstelle für Arbeitsvermittlung" (ZAV) in Bonn. It can be reached
by e-mail at the following address: 
<Bonn-ZAV.IT-Experts@arbeitsamt.de> 
Mail in your request. ZAV will take it from there. ZAV will be
responsible, for instance, for checking applicants' qualifications on
the basis of certificates presented and, if necessary, their
translations. 

question: When will the first IT specialists from non-EU countries be
allowed to come to Germany? 
answer: The requisite legal regulations are scheduled to go into effect
in the summer. After that it will be possible to start admitting job
applicants.


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