Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations

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Deployment of Telework in European Public Administrations: An Overview
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http://www.mags.nrw.de
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http://www.bmwi-info2000.de
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Bundesministerium für Arbeit und Sozialordnung (1997).

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and safety, contractual terms for enterprises and ventures, participation rights for unionists and
staff representatives, union activities and rights.
Telework agreements have been introduced between the German post union and German Telekom
AG, and between the Trade, Bank and Insurance Union (HBV) and relevant employers. They
cover issues such as voluntariness, distribution of work and working time, registration of work,
working space and equipment, reimbursement of expenses, data security, social insurance and
contact with the main office.
Funded by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Technology in Nordrhine Westphalia in the late
80s, a ‘Teletech Initiative’ was launched and followed by the initiative ‘Media NRW’ in 1995. The
Federal State Baden-Württemberg has started a programme called ‘Pilot Project Multimedia
Baden Württemberg’. The aim of this programme is the experimenting with and usability analysis
of multimedia communications services for private households and SMEs. In Bavaria,
teleworking is being encouraged in the ‘BayernOnline’ initiative.
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In June 1997 a major international conference on teleworking took place in Berlin. ‘Teleworx,’ a
new bi-monthly telework magazine, was launched in April 1997 and can be judged as a successful
awareness communication tool. In August 1997 the general conditions for the ‘Information and
Communication Services Act’ were set up with the purpose to establish uniform economic
conditons for the various applications of electronic information and communication services.
Apart from four Federal ministries (Labour and Social Order; Education, Science, Research and
Technology; Economic Affairs; Interior) conducting pilots in the framework of Federal
Government's initiative to provide models for potential follow-up projects, the following
practitioners at national, regional and local levels could be identified: The Federal Office of
Security in Information Technology, the labour agencies in Heilbronn, and Chemnitz, the
University Hohenheim, KGSt in Colonia, The Saxonian Ministry of the Interior, the Dortmunder
Systemhaus, the Office of Data Processing and Statistics in Brandenburg, the Ministry of
Economy, SMEs, Technology and Transportation in Düsseldorf, a public insurance company in
Hannover, regional and local authorities in Fürth, Arnsberg, Maifeld, Altenahr, Kastellaun and
Koblenz.