New Quality of Work initiative
The New Quality of Work initiative ( INQA ) was launched in 2002 as a joint initiative by the federal government , the federal states , social security agencies , trade unions, foundations and employers and is funded by the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS).
history
In the context of the preparations for Agenda 2010, there were concerns on the part of the German trade unions and the SPD that concepts for the humanization of the world of work would give way completely to shareholder value thinking, in which employees rely on their economic function as a cost factor for companies and as a carrier of human capital would be reduced. In this context, as well as in the context of the emerging demographic aging of Germany, the then Minister of Labor, Walter Riester, suggested placing the category of good work at the center of political considerations. He proposed and implemented a broad prevention approach in the form of the New Quality of Work initiative.
In the initial phase of the initiative, there was a strong emphasis on occupational safety and health .
In March 2006, at the instigation of the BMAS and the INQA, the non-profit network Das Demographie Netzwerk e. V. (ddn) founded, which deals with demographic change .
The objection that in the course of the financial and economic crisis "under the old slogan» main thing work «the lowering of the quality of working conditions becomes a program of shifting the crisis at the expense of the employees" was met in 2009 by Klaus Pickshaus , then head of health protection and work design at Executive Board of IG Metall , with the argument that it is particularly important in times of crisis to stand up for “good work”. “Even under crisis pressure”, “the issue of the quality of working and performance conditions should not be suppressed”.
In 2016, Minister of Labor Andrea Nahles reaffirmed that INQA stands in the tradition of the social market economy and that, in all considerations, people and their specific needs must be the focus of all considerations. In November 2016, those working in INQA committed to the "cornerstones [n] [...] of social partnership , co-determination and collective bargaining ."
The initiative has been publishing the magazine In Arbeit since 2016 as part of an offer of the same name for working with refugees.
Since May 14th, 2020 the initiative has a new website and a new logo / new sender brand (see pictures on the right).
aims
The aim of INQA is more work quality as the key to competitiveness and innovation at the location Germany to create. According to the initiative, it also offers examples from operational practice, exchange opportunities, advice and information as well as funding programs. Specifically, it is about maintaining and promoting the commitment ( motivation ), competence and health of the company's employees.
The initiative wants
- stimulate a social debate,
- Organize knowledge transfer on relevant topics,
- support innovative projects and
- Disseminate examples of good practical solutions.
Human resources policy fields of action are key issues such as leadership, diversity, health and competence.
The then Minister of Labor Ursula von der Leyen stated in 2012 that “[i] n especially in times of a shortage of skilled workers and an aging population” employers are required to “retain skilled workers in their company and create an attractive and healthy working environment”.
In the "Focus on Covid-19" area, both companies and employees can find current information, interviews and practical examples on how to deal with the pandemic in the work environment.
structure
The central decision-making body of INQA is its steering committee; it has equal representation with representatives from business and the trade unions. The Federal Employment Agency, the Conference of Labor and Social Affairs Ministers and the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, which financially supports the initiative, are also represented in it. Four thematic ambassadors bring technical expertise and a practical perspective to the committee. The topic ambassadors each represent one of the strategic topics of the initiative.
criticism
The Bundestag parliamentary group Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen , which in 2002 was one of the supporters of the founding of the INQA when it was responsible for government , criticized the INQA practice at the time in 2011 from within the opposition . The federal government does not have comprehensive knowledge of the number of age- and age-appropriate workplaces . According to the Greens, they don't seem to know the realities of the company. When asked which psychological and physical stresses in working life are problematic and make a longer working life impossible, the Federal Government replied that stress should not be assessed as negative per se and that stress could also have "activating and development-promoting and therefore positive effects". The INQA can only be successful if the actions of the actors in the field of occupational safety are coordinated and the activities are bundled. There is "an impenetrable jungle of projects, initiatives, campaigns and contact persons in Germany" when it comes to support in designing age-appropriate and age-appropriate working conditions. Many employers are overwhelmed with this.
Also in the context of the politics of the federal government led by the CDU / CSU-FDP, the Internet portal Heise ironically ironized the desired result of the INQA's activities in 2012 with the words: “Anyone who has a reasonably acceptable qualification and is lucky enough to be allowed to work until 67 will do Sooner or later they can choose their jobs, determine their own salary more or less, and venture into a new dimension of satisfaction during a fulfilling professional life ”. In fact, the INQA motto: "Value creation through appreciation" is rarely applied in practice, especially to employees under 35 years of age.
The thesis that the spirit of social partnership has survived the reforms in the context of Agenda 2010 in all German companies is vehemently contradicted by Prelate Peter Kossen , deputy official in the Oldenburg part of the diocese of Münster until 2016 : “The abuse of work contracts is eating itself like a cancer across our economy. The result is the displacement of permanent staff. Romanians, Bulgarians, Hungarians ... are exploited on a large scale for the hardest work with the lowest wages. Up to 80% of the jobs in the meat industry are filled with contract and temporary workers . Legal-free spaces have emerged, parallel worlds right among us. Children are affected, pregnant women, sick people without insurance ...! Work line, street line, forced prostitution - everything is there, also here with us! "
Web links
- Literature from Initiative Neue Qualität der Arbeit in the catalog of the German National Library
- Website of the Initiative New Quality of Work (INQA)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Jürgen Peters : Good work as a future task . In: Mitbestigung , No. 7/2003, p. 18 f., Accessed on January 26, 2017.
- ↑ Jörn Müller: Reforms for the world of work: INQA . In: The time . August 15, 2002. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ↑ About ddn . ( Memento of the original from January 24, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Demography Network e. V. (ddn), accessed on January 24, 2017.
- ↑ Klaus Pickshaus: Good work - fair weather topic or element of offensive crisis management? . In: Sozialismus 4/2009, pp. 41-46, accessed on January 26, 2017.
- ↑ INQA: Initiative New Quality of Work for Sustainable Corporate Culture: BMAS Study "Value Worlds Work 4.0" . March 17, 2016, accessed January 28, 2017.
- ↑ INQA: Shaping working conditions in digitization together - new mission statement for the New Quality of Work initiative adopted . November 8, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017.
- ↑ Work in progress . Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, November 24, 2016, accessed on January 24, 2017.
- ↑ INQA: Securing the future, shaping work. An initiative for employers and employees . Basic flyer, accessed on January 26, 2017.
- ↑ INQA: Press release: Initiative Neue Qualität der Arbeit presents online check for employers ( memento of the original from January 26, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . June 5, 2012, accessed January 26, 2017.
- ^ INQA: Structure of the initiative . Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ↑ Bundestag faction Bündnis 90 / Die Grünen: Don't let older employees down . March 31, 2011, accessed January 27, 2017.
- ↑ Thorsten Stegemann: Precarious working conditions, low wages, increasing pressure . Telepolis . May 29, 2012. Retrieved January 26, 2017.
- ↑ Peter Kossen: The speech of Prelate Peter Kossen, Permanent Representative of the Episcopal Officials ( Memento of the original of February 27, 2017 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Press release from the district of Ammerland. February 2016, accessed February 26, 2017.
