Unity and Diversity of Civil Service in Federal and Unitary/Decentralized Countries

Prof. Dr. Gisela Färber

doi:10.5771/9783748962700

Summary

In federal or decentralised countries, the civil service or public employment is subject to—specific—intergovernmental rules in each multi-layer system, which are characterised by differences in unity and diversity with regard to employment status, labour contracts, salaries and pensions, which in turn correspond to the intergovernmental relations of the countries in question or are important parts of them. The contributions in this book aim at closing the research gap here by presenting structured reports from four European countries (Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Germany), Canada, Australia, India, South Africa and Ethiopia.
With contributions byZemelak Ayele | Eva-Maria Belser | Peter Bußjäger | Jennifer L. Caruso | Géraldine Cattilaz | Julien Doris | Mathias Eller | Gisela Färber | Yonatan Fessha | Alain-G. Gagnon | Mireia Grau Creus | Salome Hunkeler | John Kincaid | Karl Kössler | J. Wesley Leckrone | Albert Orta Mascaró | Francesco Palermo | John Phillimore | Ajay Kumar Singh | Nico Steytler | Luc Turgeon | Jaap de Visser | Peter Wilkins

Keywords

Search publication

Bibliographic data

Publication year: 2025
Publication date: 17.10.2025
ISBN-Print: 978-3-7560-3338-6
ISBN-Online: 978-3-7489-6270-0
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Series: Schriftenreihe des Europäischen Zentrums für Föderalismus-Forschung Tübingen (EZFF)
Volume: 55
Language: English
Pages: 216
Product type: Edited Book

1. Preface No access
Introductory Remarks: Unity and Diversity of Civil Service in Federal and Unitary Decentralized Countries No access Pages 7 - 8 Gisela Färber
Eva Maria Belser, Géraldine Cattilaz, Salome Hunkeler
1. 1. Introduction: A Public Service Rather than an Act of Government No access
2. 1. 1. 2.1.1 Cooperative and Communal Origins of the Swiss Administration No access
    2. 2.1.2 The Federal Administration: Not Much Central, Still Very Local No access
    3. 2.1.3 New Century: Less Bureaucracy – More Liberalization No access
  2. 2.2 The Federal Structure of the Swiss Public Administration No access
3. 1. 3.1 Size and Figures: Proportions of the State Levels No access
  2. 3.2 Federal Administration and Public Personnel No access
  3. 3.3 Cantonal Administrations and Public Personnel No access
  4. 3.4 Communal Administrations and Public Personnel No access
4. 1. 4.1 Employment Relationship No access
  2. 4.2 Duties of Public Personnel No access
  3. 4.3 Working Conditions No access
  4. 1. 4.4.1 Public Administration and Multilingualism No access
    2. 4.4.2 Women in Public Administration No access
5. 5. Concluding Remarks No access
6. 6. References No access
Peter Bußjäger, Mathias Eller
1. 1. Introductory Remarks No access
2. 1. 2.1 Developments up until the 1974 B-VG Amendment No access
  2. 2.2 Bound Reformers: The 1974 Introduction of the Principle of Homogeneity in Service Law and the Judicature of the Constitutional Court No access
3. 3. Elimination of the Principle of Homogeneity and its Replacement No access
4. 1. 4.1 Developments at Federal Level No access
  2. 4.2 Developments at Länder Level No access
  3. 4.3 The Problem of Permeability No access
5. 5. Summary No access
6. 6. References No access
Karl Kössler, Francesco Palermo
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 1. 2.1 The organization of the civil service in historical perspective: A tale of centralization No access
  2. 2.2 Elements of “mixed administration” in federal Austria: How civil services (are forced to) interact No access
  3. 2.3 The scope and practice of “mixed administration”: Service codes, service prerogatives and the distinction of authorities and auxiliary bodies No access
  4. 2.4 Policing: Local and supra-local No access
3. 1. 3.1 A quasi-federal institutional design with a centralized administration: historical roots … No access
  2. 3.2 … and current trends No access
  3. 3.3 The law enforcement bodies No access
  4. 3.4 Current challenges No access
4. 4. Concluding remarks No access
5. 5. References No access
Gisela Färber
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 1. 2.1 What is civil service in Germany? No access
  2. 2.2 Data on civil service No access
  3. 2.3 Legislation powers in the field of salaries and pensions No access
3. 3. Career schemes and salaries, pensions and health care, labour mobility No access
4. 4. Working time and salaries No access
5. 5. The actual and future ‘labor market situation’ of the civil service No access
6. 6. German civil service between divergence, harmonization and competition? No access
7. 7. References No access
Mireia Grau Creus, Albert Orta Mascaró
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 2. Comparative indicators on public service and how much they tell us about decentralization No access
3. 1. 3.1 Coercive isomorphism No access
  2. 3.2 Mimetic isomorphism No access
4. 4. Conclusions: Seeding Decentralization and Harvesting Uniformity No access
5. 5. References No access
John Kincaid, J. Wesley Leckrone
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 1. 2.1 Growth and Patterns of Government Employment No access
  2. 2.2 Public Employees’ Functional Specializations No access
  3. 2.3 Assimilation, Affirmative Action, and Representative Bureaucracy No access
  4. 2.4 Comparisons to the Private Sector No access
  5. 2.5 Social Security and State and Local Governments No access
3. 1. 3.1 Civil Service Systems No access
  2. 3.2 Public Employee Unions and Collective Bargaining No access
  3. 3.3 Privatization, Contracting Out, and Reinventing Government No access
  4. 3.4 Redefining the Purpose of Bureaucracy No access
  5. 3.5 Ranking the Qualities of State Public Administration System No access
4. 4. Anti-Commandeering No access
5. 5. Preference for Limited Government No access
6. 1. 6.1 Federal Efficiency and Risk Reduction No access
  2. 6.2 Dual Federalism No access
  3. 6.3 Federal-Aid Carrots and Sticks No access
  4. 6.4 Partial Preemption of State Powers No access
  5. 6.5 Waivers of Federal Law No access
  6. 6.6 Federal Statutory and Regulatory Penalties No access
  7. 6.7 Federal Court Orders No access
  8. 6.8 State and Local Employee Lobbying No access
  9. 6.9 Public Employee Unions No access
  10. 6.10 State and Local Government Associations No access
  11. 6.11 Nongovernmental Organizations No access
  12. 6.12 Interest-Group Pressure No access
  13. 6.13 Territorially Dispersed Diversity No access
7. 7. Conclusion: The Question of Autonomy No access
8. 8. References No access
John Phillimore, Peter Wilkins
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 1. 2.1 Australia’s system of government: the basics No access
  2. 2.2 Labour regulation: Towards a national system No access
3. 3. The Public Sector Context No access
4. 1. 4.1 Defining the public sector No access
  2. 4.2 Employment No access
  3. 4.3 Unionisation No access
  4. 1. 4.4.1 Public sector distinctiveness No access
    2. 4.4.2 Wages No access
5. 5. Intergovernmental Issues No access
6. 6. Conclusion: Increasing Convergence and Uniformity No access
7. 7. References No access
Luc Turgeon, Julien Doris, Alain-G. Gagnon, Jennifer L. Caruso
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 2. Employment equity: a comparative framework No access
3. 3. Setting the stage: employment equity in the federal public service No access
4. 1. 1. 4.1.1 Legal instruments No access
    2. 4.1.2 Programs, policies, and accountability mechanisms No access
  2. 4.2 Targeted groups and employment equity No access
  3. 4.2.1 Reporting of data on employment equity No access
5. 5. Discussion and conclusion No access
6. 6. References No access
Ajay Kumar Singh
1. 1. Founders’ Intent No access
2. 2. Ring of Services No access
3. 3. Missing Political Neutrality No access
4. 1. 4.1 First Administrative Reform Commission (ARC) No access
  2. 4.2 Second Administrative Reform Commission No access
  3. 4.3 Committees on Recruitment/Examination Reforms No access
  4. 4.4 Pay Commissions on Civil Services Reform No access
5. 5. Supreme Court’s Directions No access
6. 6. Recent Changes No access
7. 7. Conclusion No access
8. 8. References No access
Jaap de Visser, Nico Steytler
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 1. 2.1 Negotiating provincial autonomy No access
  2. 1. 2.2.1 1993 interim Constitution No access
    2. 2.2.2 1996 Constitution No access
  3. 1. 2.3.1 Public Service Laws Amendment Act of 1998 No access
    2. 2.3.2 Financial autonomy No access
    3. 2.3.3 The incapable provincial state No access
  4. 2.4 Reflections No access
3. 1. 3.1 Historical background No access
  2. 3.2 Constitutional framework No access
  3. 3.3 Post-apartheid local administrative autonomy No access
  4. 3.4 Local autonomy unravels No access
  5. 3.5 National government’s response: shrink local government’s autonomy No access
  6. 3.6 Reflections No access
4. 4. Conclusion No access
5. 5. References No access
Zemelak Ayele, Yonatan Fessha
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 2. Ethiopian federal system in brief No access
3. 3. Civil service in Ethiopian history No access
4. 4. Constitutional principle on federal civil service No access
5. 5. The federal civil service under federal laws No access
6. 6. Ethnic composition of federal civil service No access
7. 7. Conclusion No access
8. 8. References No access
Authors No access Pages 215 - 216