Recommendation sought from the Commission to devise a plan for securing workers against dangers from work-related accidents.
In the Leipzig city administration, a priority is being placed on the implementation of a standardized overload management system. This system, designed to manage municipal intense rainfall risk, is a response to the urgent need to address risks associated with intense rainfall and flash flooding.
The system includes digital terrain models, hydrodynamic simulations, and intense rainfall risk maps, which help identify trouble spots, predict flood depths and flow paths, and mitigate damage to infrastructure and threats to public safety. This initiative is a response to the increasing risk posed by extreme weather events such as heavy rains and flash floods, which can cause significant material damage and endanger lives.
The Alliance 90/The Greens faction is promoting this initiative to enhance sustainable urban water management, protect citizens, and reduce environmental impacts, aligning with its broader environmental and climate resilience goals.
However, concerns have been raised about the ongoing budget consolidation and the city council's goal of reducing staff by 500 positions. The Green faction considers the introduction of a systematic overload management system indispensable, given these circumstances.
The lack of a unified overload management system is not new, having been a recurring topic for years in the General Administration committee responsible for personnel matters. The Green faction has submitted an application with three central demands: a uniform digital reporting procedure for overload reports, integration of overload management with Occupational Health Management, and a concept for targeted support measures in areas with high sick leave rates.
In a related matter, the motion to be voted on August 27th is related to the recently proposed and majority-rejected recall of the advisory committee "Strategic Personnel Matters" and the demand to actively involve staff in the task criticism process. The Greens find it problematic that funds for measures to implement new leadership guidelines have been cut this year and are planned to be cut again in 2026.
The Green faction is concerned about partially closed citizen offices, long wait times for appointments, delayed naturalizations, and delayed implementation of city council resolutions. On average, around 900 employees are absent due to illness daily in the Leipzig city administration. The Green faction considers the introduction of a systematic overload management system indispensable to address these issues.
Employees are seen as valuable sources for process improvement suggestions, according to Chantal Schneiß, the chairman of the Green faction. The administration's statement supporting the basic goal of the Green faction's application was presented on Wednesday, August 6. The proposed system aims to ensure the systematic recording and processing of overload reports from municipal employees.
The Green faction's application aims to strengthen the city administration as an attractive employer and secure the quality of administrative services for citizens. The high sickness rate is primarily due to high workload in citizen-facing areas. The Green faction's stance is that reducing staff while ignoring the increasing burden on employees is not a sustainable solution and could cause more harm than good.
[1] Source: Leipzig City Administration's official statement and Green faction's press release.
- The Green faction’s application for a unified digital reporting procedure for overload reports, integration with Occupational Health Management, and a concept for targeted support measures in areas with high sick leave rates is aimed at improving workplace-wellness, specifically addressing the mental-health issues and high workload in citizen-facing areas of the Leipzig city administration.
- The implementation of a standardized overload management system, as proposed by the Green faction, is believed to contribute to the city administration's health-and-wellness initiatives, ensuring a safer and less stressful work environment for its employees, and thereby fostering a culture of fitness-and-exercise, which in turn, further improves mental-health.
- Given the city council's goal of reducing staff by 500 positions and the high sickness rate in the Leipzig city administration, the Green faction posits that the proposed overload management system is indispensable for mitigating the negative impacts on science, as consistent and effective workforce management is crucial for the city's scientific and research-based decision-making, ultimately contributing to the overall health-and-wellness and environmental sustainability of the city.
