The following is an informal translation of an article titled “Jobben in der Grauzone,” on prostitution and unemployment benefits that ran in the ex-communist publication Jungle World. This article ran on July 30, 2003, and appears to have been one of two articles relied on by Clare Chapman of the Daily Telegraph in writing her hatchet job on the German unemployment system. [The other, "Ein Job wie jeder andere" or "Just a Job to Do" by Kai von Appen of the Berlin Tageszeitung, a.k.a. Taz, is translated here.] Note in particular the odd parallels between the 25-year old unemployed woman from Berlin in the Jungle-World article and the 25-year old unemployed woman cited in the Telegraph. The only clear difference between the two is that both were allegedly 25 despite the fact that the stories ran a year and a half apart. This is consistent with another of Chapman’s boners, namely her statement that prostitution had been legalized “just over two years ago” when in fact it had been three.

Jobbing in a Grey Area

Prostitution can no longer be considered immoral under the law. Some owners of brothels would like to use unemployment offices to augment their work force.
by Anke Schwarzer

We’ve always known that the state was the greatest pimp of all. At the end of the day, it gets a healthy cut from the sex industry by skimming profits from accused traffickers of humans and by collecting trade taxes on hotels and discos. It now came within inches of promoting prostitution outrigh as the state unemployment agency in Berlin nearly referred an unemployed woman to a brothel. At the beginning of the month, Sabine Hell (not her real name - and “hell” is German for “bright,” not for hell) received a letter from the employment agency: “an employer has expressed interest in your job profile. Please contact the Reni-Massage Company.”

As soon as she became unemployed, the 25-year-old had to take a course that not only explained the new rules regarding what professions she was suite to, but also had her prepare a job profile. In it she noted that she was willing to work “night shifts at a bar” if necessary. Prior to becoming unemployed, she had held several jobs waiting tables at a Café.

The job offer from the employment agency seemed rather odd to Ms. Hell. Nevertheless, beggars can’t be choosers, and unemployed people should leave no stone unturned while searching for a job. Out of fear of getting into trouble or even losing her unemployment beenfits completely, Hell looked into the matter further. She found the home page of the company on the Internet. “At this point it became clear,” she said, “that the place was a whorehouse.” “We are the Reni Massage Team! We’ll treat you to hot kisses, cozy and tender massages, or uninhibited sex,” the site proclaimed. The site also featured flashing red hearts and topless ladies with garter belts reclining on hot pink beds.

Sabine Hell was not amused to learn that sex was now considered an appropriate job for her. She complained to the appropriate official. “W-H-O-R-E-H-O-U-S-E. I had to spell the word three times out loud before she got my point,” Hell said. The official attempted to placate her, noting that the job offer was not obligatory. Hell maintains that she never received a personal apology for the mix-up.

According to Olaf Möller, the press secretary for the state unemployment agency in Berlin, the agency has already publicly apologized. In the end, he said, unemployment agencies are required to review all job offerings to ensure that the jobs are not illegal and do not violate people’s rights or good morals. When asked why a job for a prostitute was announced in spite of this policy, he pointed to the unclear definition of her job profile. “They were looking for a bartender.”

From the perspective of the Spandau massage parlor’s proprietress, the job announcement was nothing out of the ordinary. After all, prostitution had been legalized over the years. They’re looking for women who have voluntarily decided to earn money for sex, legally, either as employees with benefits or as independent contractors. Now they got a call from the employment agency advising them that future job announcements would not be possible.

Prostitution has not been considered a violation of “good morals” since January of 2002. However, due to a constitutional decision by the Federal Labor Department, employment agencies generally do not refer people to this line of work, although the official designation of the profession, “9139101: Prostitute” (male or female) does exist. This decision was intended primarily to protect the human rights of people looking for work. In addition, it was determined that cided that prostitution is not the kind of work for which job referrals are relevant.

Even under the new law, prostitution is not just a job like any other. Sex worker guilds complain that the authorities don’t give them clear directives. Madonna e.V. of the Bochum Information Center for Prostitute complains also that the penal codeimmigration laws, trade laws and the laws applicable to restaurants have not been revised to conform to the new prostitution law.

In many locations, sex worker guilds have negotiated deals with trade officials, finance officials, employment agencies and district attorneys, but legally binding opinions are nowhere to be found. Uniform regulation simply doesn’t exist. As a result, practices vary by region, with local authorities ruling according their whims. In Munich, the D.A. still investigates every brothel for procurement of prostitutes as soon as an employment contract is presented. Whether a sex worker can register as “Me, Inc.” or as a trade remains unclear in all states except Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Saxony and Thuringia, where prostitution is still considered immoral and is not recognized as a profession.

To date, not a single woman has approached the prostitution counseling center “Kaffeeklappe” in the St. Pauli section of Hamburg and offficially registered under the professional designation of “Prostitute.” An employee of the agency, Gaby Suessmuth, observes that “as before, prostitution occurs in a grey area.” Prostitutes who are illegal immigrant prostitutes couldn’t register if they wanted to. Many hookers actually prefer to operate outside the system, and bordello owners are happy to save the additional costs associated with paying lawful salaries.

Sabine Hell’s case demonstrates the half-heartedness of the new prostitution law and the shifting mores in the public debate, but that is not all. It also relates to the basic question of what jobs are and are not reasonably related to a person, and which ones may be coerced through threats of lost benefits. For tabloids such as Bild or RTL and for other media who had a field day with Hell’s case, the issue is clear; prostitution will be considered an inappropriate profession across the board, and all job announcements in the unemployment agencies will be made into scandals, even though, on the flip side, the sexual experiences offered in brothels are zealously reported and quick lays are touted around every train station.

If, on the other hand, recipients of social welfare like those in Hamburg have to pick up chestnut foliage for one Euro per hour to stem the reproduction of horse chestnut leaf miners, or if applicants for political asylum are required to pull weeds, then a “contribution to society” is welcomed.

For now, a woman seeking employment who does not want to be or continue to be a sex worker, has the freedom to say no. By contrast, a woman who worked as a carpenter and wants to change professions will have a tougher time. Ever since the Hartz reform and the introduction of the new “reasonable fit” rules, the number of complaints has risen, reports Heidemarie Gerstle, who is responsible for caring for the unemployed in the Verdi district of Berlin-Brandenburg. “Employment agencies receive offers that are not serious, and many of them are just plain silly.” People seeking employment get sent into fields that have nothing to do with their job skills, and full-time positions are split into multiple part-time jobs. Due to this increasing pressure, people seeking employment are more likely to accept precarious jobs.

Meanwhile, Sabine Hell has gotten a new job offer, this time from a temporary employment agency in Eberswalde.