Düsseldorf – The opposition talks about a “clear cut”, the state government about an important step into the future: In North Rhine-Westphalia the number of labor courts will be reduced by almost half; according to Justice Minister Benjamin Limbach (56, Green Party), their number should be reduced from the current 33 to 17.
The surprising background to the decision NRW must be implemented within the next five years: Procedures before this are becoming fewer and fewer labor court. On the one hand, this is because everything is going well crisisr in recent years, this has reduced the causes of disputes between workers and employers. There is also a tendency to settle disputes out of court. And a slow decline in population.
The result: judgment cases reduced by 20 percent in ten years!
minister Limbach want to take precautions now. Moreover, the 18 labor courts in North Rhine-Westphalia have only four or fewer judges, some even with just two. Since the current 700 employees are spread across 33 locations, some of which are very small, there will only be 17 larger units in the future. Limbach: “The problem is not a lack of staff, but rather staff spread across many locations.” This project does not aim to save personnel. Jobs are guaranteed, and the merger will provide “good individual solutions.”
The regional labor court in Cologne must be present
One of the state’s three labor courts will also be open, namely the court in Cologne. Hamm and Düsseldorf remain. Balance in the region should include, among other things, local court days where judges from other locations make special trips. According to Limbach’s plan, the judiciary in North Rhine-Westphalia still has 40 locations where labor laws are negotiated.
On the contrary, the opposition SPD talks about “clear cutting”! Legal expert Sonja Bongers (49, SPD): “With this ‘remote reform’, Minister Limbach is blocking access to the law. Anyone who wants labor law disputes to be tried in court in the future will have to travel up to 70 kilometers to do so.” The Minister of Justice is planning the real dismantling of the justice system – “the withdrawal of law and the state from the region.” Bongers: “In places like Detmold, Herford, Herne, Iserlohn, Krefeld or Siegen there will be no more separate locations in the future. This is outrageous and a fatal signal for the constitutional state.”
