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Potsdam (dpa / bb) - Only four labor courts instead of six plus additional days of negotiation for labor disputes at the local courts - this is what reform plans of the Ministry of Justice in Brandenburg provide.

“For years, the number of entries in the labor courts has been falling.

If we do not act now, it will no longer be possible to guarantee that several locations will be able to work in the foreseeable future, ”said Justice Minister Susanne Hoffmann (CDU).

On Thursday she presented the reform to the state parliament's legal committee.

There are currently six labor courts in the country, and there should be four in the future.

According to the plans, the Potsdam and Eberswalde locations are to be eliminated, and the Senftenberg branch in Cottbus is also to be given up.

This would mean there would still be labor courts in Brandenburg / Havel, Cottbus, Frankfurt (Oder) and Neuruppin.

In addition, labor judges are supposed to work on extra court days in justice buildings in Perleberg, Eberswalde, Luckenwalde and Senftenberg.

Applications could be submitted to the legal application offices of the local courts.

So that the employees of the local courts can advise those seeking advice on the correct application, they should be trained.

"All cases in the Eberswalde and Senftenberg jurisdictions will continue to be decided there or even at a location closer to those seeking law," said spokesman Horst Fischer.

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For years the number of cases received by the labor courts has decreased, since 2003 well over 50 percent.

While the courts counted 24,600 proceedings in 2000, according to the ministry, there were still 8,235 in 2020. Despite the corona pandemic with its consequences such as short-time work and company closings, there was only a 0.2 percent increase in proceedings in 2020 compared to the previous year, according to Hoffmann in Potsdam.

The ministry also does not expect that the pandemic will lead to such a sharp increase that the courts - even in the reduced number - will no longer be able to work.

At the labor court in Potsdam alone, there was an increase of 7.5 percent compared to 2019. Nevertheless, the location in the state capital should close in the future or be relocated to Brandenburg an der Havel.

The ministry assumes that the reform can be implemented by January 1, 2023.

Specifically, there are 26 positions in labor jurisdiction from judges to employees in the offices, said Fischer.

Since the ministry expects a pension-related reduction of one third, 17 jobs across the country are still affected when the reform comes into force.

The employees of the courts affected by the closings then have a choice: either they take jobs at the local courts or they move.

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The reform is intended to ensure the functionality of the labor courts for the future, said the ministry.

Previous locations have developed into so-called small courts, i.e. courts with fewer than three, sometimes even with fewer than two professional judges.

According to Hoffmann, operations can hardly be guaranteed in the event of illness or vacation.

“In the coalition agreement, we have set ourselves the goal of promoting all parts of the country and also thinking about the settlement of authorities wherever the opportunity arises.

Here is an opportunity », said the legal policy spokeswoman for the SPD parliamentary group, Tina Fischer.

The left faction in the state parliament demanded that the locations be preserved.

"Due to the effects of the corona pandemic, the commissioning of the BER airport and the settlement of the Tesla Gigafactory, we must assume that the number of cases in labor justice will increase in the coming years," warned the judicial policy spokeswoman Marlen Block.

Much like hospitals, courts should be accessible to people and should not be closed for economic reasons, said Block.

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The Beamtenbund (dbb) in Brandenburg criticized: A closure is not the right means.

On the one hand, the closings would have significant consequences for the staff employed there.

The distances from Eberswalde to Frankfurt (Oder) are not manageable without moving.

The way from Potsdam to Brandenburg an der Havel is also considerable.

"A socially acceptable accompaniment of the closure always remains the worse means than keeping the job," it says in a message.

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