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The Committee notes the Government's report. With reference to the collective bargaining rights of teachers, the Government states that the procedure for the participation of central trade union organizations in the formulation of the general regulation of conditions for civil servants pursuant to section 94 of the Federal Civil Servants Act is based on an agreement between the Federal Ministry of the Interior and the central organizations of the relevant trade unions, which was concluded in 1993 and revised in 1996. The Government points out that following one union's abrogation of this agreement on 31 December 1998 (the agreement still applies to the other unions), a pilot project was launched with the unions' participation with the aim of extending participation rights. On the basis of the outcome of that project, there will be discussions with the unions on ways of further developing the participation process. The Government is nevertheless of the view that the legal position of civil servants in Germany and the actual methods used to determine their employment conditions meet the requirements of the Convention, even without collective bargaining.

While taking note of the Government's comments, the Committee reiterates once again that it cannot allow the exclusion from the terms of the Convention of large categories of workers employed by the State merely on the grounds that they are formally placed on the same footing as public officials engaged in the administration of the State and who, by the functions, are directly employed in the administration of the State - such as, for example, civil servants employed in government ministries and other comparable bodies (see 1994 General Survey on freedom of association and collective bargaining, paragraph 200). The Committee considers that teachers carry out duties different from officials in the administration of the State, and therefore should enjoy the guarantees provided for under Article 4 of the Convention.

In the light of the above comments, the Committee invites the Government, together with the trade union organizations concerned, to study ways in which the current system could be developed so as to ensure a proper application of the Convention. In this regard, the Committee notes that the pilot project launched in 1999 with the participation of the unions concerned may provide a suitable mechanism for such an effort. The Committee requests the Government to keep it informed of the outcome of that project.