Data Collection: Stakeholder Interviews

This section discusses the collection, evaluation and analysis of the secondary data set, the twenty-six interviews with policymakers, institutional actors, labour market stakeholders, and policy advisors.

The interviews were conducted during July/August/September 2009 and July/August/September 2010 in Germany. Most interviews were held in the city of Berlin, capital of the Federal Republic and seat of the German government. The first segment of interview candidates includes key members of the Bundestag, representatives of federal political parties as well as institutional actors representing the relevant federal ministries that are involved in the formulation and administration of labour migration policies. In order to include the federal states represented in the Bundesrat, interviews

were also conducted with representatives from federal state or Länder institutions that are involved with migrant workers and administer labour migration policies.

The second segment of interview candidates consists of labour market

stakeholders and non-government policy advisors that advise, lobby, and criticize the government and its ministries on matters relating to skilled labour migration policy and as such represent influential agents within political disclosure on skilled labour

migration. Labour market stakeholders include representatives of the trade unions as well as employers and industry associations. Non-government policy advisors include

representatives from economic research institutes, immigration think-tanks as well as prominent migration scholar and government immigration advisor Dr Klaus Bade.

Prospective interview candidates were identified utilizing an array of research strategies. The members of the Bundestag (MdB’s) interviewed were identified through their participation in the parliamentary debate on skilled labour migration or their membership in relevant parliamentary committees such as the Parliamentary Committee for Interior Politics. The Bundestag website (www.Bundestag.de) as well as the

respective websites of political parties with seats in the Bundestag were utilized to find the contact details of the MdB’s. The interview candidates from the trade unions, industry association, and think tanks were identified through contact with the information services of their respective institution and interviews were scheduled by phone and email. A number of interview candidate were identified after being referred to by other interview respondents and in some cases the interviewees acted intermediary by arranging

interviews with third parties.

The representatives from the Bundestag were contacted by phone and email in their office within their respective home constituency. Approximately twenty-four members of the Bundestag were contacted. In the end one representative from each political party with seats in the Bundestag during the 2005 to 2009 legislative period agreed to be interviewed.

Interviewed Members of Bundestag (MdB):

• CDU – MdB Reinhard Grindel • SPD – MdB Michael Bürsch

• Green Party – MdB Christian Ströbele • Links Party - MdB Sevin Dadgelen • FDP - MdB Sibylle Laurischk

Both interviewed representatives from Christian Democrats (CDU) and Social Democrats (SPD) were members of the Parliamentary Committee on Interior Affairs between 2005 and 2009 and were also their respective party representatives on immigration and migration policy. The FDP, Links Party, and Green Party

representatives on the other hand were not on the Committee on Interior Affairs (The Links Party representative joined the committee after 2009). The respective members of three opposition parties (FDP, Linke, and Greens) on the Parliamentary Committee on Interior Affairs declined to be interviewed on the issue of skilled labour migration.44 The substitute interview respondents from the three opposition parties nonetheless proved valuable. The interviewee from the Free Liberals (FDP) was the current party

representative on immigration matters and she was a member of the Parliamentary Committee on Family Affairs in the 2005 – 2009 period. The Links Party interview respondent was a deputy member of the Committee on Interior Affairs between 2005 to 2009 and had been the prominent party spokesperson on migration matters, particularly on issues relating to racism and Islamophobia. The Green Party representative, who agreed to be interviewed at the very last minute, is a founding member of the German Green Party and member of the Parliamentary Committee on Legal Affairs.45 Due to time constraints and scheduling difficulties on the part of the MdBs, the interview sessions were limited to fifteen or twenty minutes, which meant that they could not answer every

44 _{As small federal political parties, FDP, Linke, and Greens only constitute a relatively small number of}

representatives in the various parliamentary committees. SPD and CDU on the other hand generally have a dozen or more representatives on the parliamentary committees, particularly the important ones such as the Committee on Interior Affairs. It proved very difficult and time-consuming to find willing interview respondents from the Committee on Interior Affairs and it was most likely only possible to schedule with CDU and SPD members of the Committee on Interior Affairs because there are simply more Christian Democrats and Social Democrats on the committee than from the smaller federal parties.

45 _{Approximately eight Green Party Bundestag members were contacted but they either declined the interview request} or never respondent. The Green Party representative remains the only Green Party representative with a direct political mandate in Germany, which means he has his own constituency. As a final ditch effort to secure an interview from the Green Party, the interviewee was approached in person in his constituent office in Berlin (Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg) and he agreed to a short interview. The constituency Friedrichshain-Kreuzberg in Berlin is one of Germany’s most ethnically diverse neighbourhoods and as such the MdB Ströbele engages himself frequently on behalf of Germany’s migrant community.

question included in the interview guide. As such the interviews with the MdBs did not yield the same quantity of data as the interviews with the other respondents where there were no time limitations.

Another five interviews were conducted with consultants from each of the five federal political parties with seats in the Bundestag. Unlike the members of Bundestag, the party consultants are legal specialists with in-depth knowledge and expertise on immigration policies and the issues surrounding labour migration, advising their respective political party and its MdBs on migration policy related matters and as such are actively engaged in the process of migration policy formulation. The five interview respondents support the work of their respective party members on the Parliamentary Committee on Interior Affairs and also attend and participate in the committee’s meetings.

Party Consultants Interviewed:

• CDU – Consultant for Work Group Interior Affairs • SPD – Consultant for Committee on Interior Affairs • Green Party – Consultant for Migration and Refugee Policy • Links Party - Consultant for Migration and Integration • FDP - Consultant for Integration

Unlike the interviewed members of the Bundestag, the names and contact details of party immigration consultants were not openly accessible. The party consultants were

identified through consultation with the administration in their respective party

headquarters, which supplied the e-mail addresses of the interview respondents. Interview appointments were then arranged through/via phone and email.

Three interview respondents came from key federal ministries and federal institutions involved in implementing, administering, as well as formulating skilled labour migration policies on behalf of the government.

Institutional Stakeholders - Federal • Federal Ministry of the Interior

• Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs

• Federal Government Commissioner for Migration, Refugees, and Integration.

These three federal ministries and offices are key institutional actors in formulating, implementing, and administering skilled labour migration polices in Germany,

particularly the Federal Ministry of the Interior, which is the leading ministry on immigration and migration policy related matters while the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs is responsible for implementing policies and regulations for migrant workers in Germany. The federal ministers in charge of the federal ministries are also members of the Bundestag and as such engage themselves in political debate and policy formation processes on skilled labour migration.46 The Federal Government

Commissioner for Migration, Refugees, and Integration does not represent a federal ministry but instead is represented by a Minister of State located within the Chancellor’s office. All three interview respondents were senior civil servants within their respective institution and their names and office locations were released upon request through the information services of their respective institution.

The federal state or Länder institutions that were selected for interviews for the research project were the integration representatives of four different federal states. As mentioned before, Germany’s federal states (Länder) exert some influence on federal political debate through the Bundesrat. Four state institutions were included in this research project in order to contextualize the data derived from the Bundesrat debate transcripts. The following four federal states (Länder) were chosen for the research project and interviews were conducted with senior representatives from each institution.

46 _{The Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology was also identified as a significant contributor to political} discourse on labour migration and associated policy, particularly after several well-publicized statements by Minister Brüderle during June 2010 about prospective labour shortages in Germany’s high technology sector. However interview requests were repeatedly denied by representatives from the ministry on the reason that labour migration was not part of the ministry’s jurisdiction.

Institutional Stakeholders – State (Länder)

• Office of the Representative for Integration in Lower Saxony

• Office of the Representative for Integration and Migration in Berlin • Office for Integration & Migration in Bremen

• Welcome Center Hamburg

The interview candidates from the Länder institutions in Bremen and Hamburg worked within branches of their respective institution that specifically dealt with skilled foreign professionals. In Lower Saxony and Berlin, the interview respondents were the actual state commissioners for immigration and integration and therefore had all aspects of immigration fell within their jurisdiction. All four interview respondents were

identified through their institution’s website and contacted by email.

Aside from the seventeen interviews with politicians, policy makers, and state administrators, another set of interviews was conducted with representatives of non- government institutions that are involved in the political debate and associated policy formation processes on skilled labour migration in Germany. Government and party representatives identified these as “social partners” and they acknowledged that the government regularly consulted these social partners and that they also actively lobby the government, political parties, and ministries on labour migration policy related issues.

Two interviews were conducted with representatives from Germany’s Trade Unions.

Labour Market Stakeholders – Organized Labour • Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB)

• Industrial Union of Metalworkers (IG metal): Berlin/Brandenburg/Saxony-branch

The Confederation of German Trade Unions (DGB) represents an umbrella

organization of the country’s main trade unions and the DGB’s interview respondent is the union’s chief federal advisor on labour migration issues and migrant workers rights.

The IG Metal on the other hand is a member of the DGB and represented the metal industry, particularly the automobile sector. The interview respondent from the IG Metal represents migrant workers in the provinces of Berlin, Brandenburg, and Saxony. Thus the trade union interviews represented a federal as well as state position on skilled labour migration and corresponding government policy.

In order to balance the trade union viewpoint on the issue of skilled labour migration, three interviews were conducted with representatives of employer and industry friendly institutions.

Labour Market Stakeholders – Employers/Industry

• Association of German Chambers of Industry and Commerce (DIHK) • Confederation of German Employers' Associations (BDA)

• Association of German Engineers (VDI)

These three industry associations represent industry and employers in Germany and they frequently voiced concern in the national media about current and future skilled labour shortages in Germany. The DIHK and BDA interview respondents represent their respective national head organization in Berlin while the VDI interviewee represents his association’s branch for the states Brandenburg and Berlin. Thus again the interviews provided a balance between federal and state view on the policy issue at stake. Interviews were arranged through the reception services at the three organizations.

Further interviews were held with representatives from three German think tanks and research institutes that conduct research on labour migration in Germany and more significantly advise government policy makers on the issue.

Non-government policy advisors

• German Institute for Economic Research (DIW) • Cologne Institute for Economic Research (IW Köln)

The DIW is a publically funded economic research institute specializing in applied economic research and economic policy consulting and the interview respondent,

Professor Klaus Zimmermann, is also the president of the institute.47 _{The IW Köln on the} other hand is a private research institute with close connections to German industry. Representatives of the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology referred to the IW Köln because all ministerial research on the issue of skilled labour migration had been outsourced to the institute. The SVR on the other hand represents an independent advisory board funded by a number of private and charitable foundations in Germany. The SVR conducts and publishes research on immigration and positions itself on issues relating to immigration and migrant integration in Germany.

The final interview respondent was Dr Klaus Bade, Germany’s leading migration scholar who is frequently quoted in the national media and regularly advises the German government on immigration policies and policy reform. Dr Bade is also a founding member of the SVR.

Arranging and scheduling the interviews proved a difficult and challenging task as all participants were senior policy makers and professionals and therefore had

extremely busy schedules. It took several weeks, sometimes even months, to schedule an interview. Upon meeting the interview respondents, each candidate was given a written outline of the research project, which included the stated research goals as well as the contact information of the project manager. All interviewed candidates were asked to sign a consent form stating that they had the right to withdraw from the interview at any point and that the interview questions had been approved by the Loughborough

University Ethical Advisory Committee (see appendix C). All interview respondents agreed to the terms outlined in the consent form. The names of the interview respondents from the federal political parties, federal ministries as well as the labour market

stakeholders and non-policy advisors remain anonymous. The interviewed politicians on the other hand, due to their public role, agreed to be quoted in the study. This also applies to the integration representatives for the federal states and participants from the research institutes. Prof Klaus Bade also agreed to be quoted in the study. Since many of the

47 _{Dr Zimmermann is also Director of the Institute at the Study of Labour in Germany and Professor of Economics at} Bonn University

interview respondents belong to Germany’s political and economic elite, the lead researcher made sure that his appearance and conduct during the interview was professional, which included appropriate clothing (tie and suit) and the use of formal German language, factors, which as Harvey (2009) and Valentine (2005) have

highlighted, are important. Moreover, personalized background profiles were created for each interview respondent. These were then reviewed prior to the actual interview and helped convey an image of professional preparedness on part of the researcher and showed awareness of the respondent’s political views.

All interviews were held in the offices of the participants, which provided a quiet and professional setting for the interviews, which generally took between forty and sixty minutes. All interviews were conducted in German, the native language of all interview respondents. The interviews were recorded on a digital voice recorder, digitally stored, and transcribed and translated upon the researcher’s return to the UK. The researcher of this project speaks English and German with native fluency and has had significant experience in German-English translation. The main objective of the translation process was to confer the actual meaning of the German interview statements into English and preserve the models of argumentation embedded in the interview statements.

One of the issues that arose during the translation process was the translation of the term skilled migrant professional from German into English. The participants in the parliamentary debate in Bundestag and Bundesrat and the interview respondents frequently refer to highly skilled migrant professionals (Hochqualifizierte Zuwanderer) when they refer to migrant workers with post-secondary credentials. The literature on labour migration defines migrants with post-secondary degrees as skilled migrants and therefore the German term Hochqualifizierte Zuwanderer was been translated into skilled migrants instead of highly skilled migrants in order to avoid confusion and be consistent with the literature (Iredale, 2001).

For confidentiality reasons, the wmv files containing the interviews were deleted after the transcription and translation was completed. Each transcript was labelled with a unique code that identified the particular interview respondents and the researcher only knows these transcript label codes.

Each interview session followed an interview guide that consisted of twenty-one questions, all of which relate to aspects and issues raised about the 2009 Action

Programme on Skilled Labour Migration (see appendix B). The interviews were open- ended and semi-structured and the questions did not necessarily follow the same order in every interview (Valentine, 2005). Moreover, in a number of interviews, issues were raised that specifically applied to the particular respondent’s professional background and a number of follow up questions were improvised during some of the interviews. This partially explains why some interviews only lasted forty minutes while others lasted up to two hours. As such the semi-structured interview guide provided the flexibility to follow up on interested leads and topics that occurred during the interview with some

participants. One of the recurring issues in the interview process was respondents’ not answering the question they were asked. This is not surprising in elite interviews; Harvey (2009, p. 25) states that; ‘Elite members will often advertently or inadvertently not

answer the questions asked of them’. When such scenario occurred, the question was

repeated or rephrased, which then always led to a conclusive answer. For further information of research ethics please refer to appendix F.

4.7 - Data Analysis: Stakeholder Interviews

The purpose of the interviews was to collect a secondary data set from the

informal discourse and power brokering that occurs outside the official political debate in the German Bundestag and Bundesrat, which nevertheless constitutes an important aspect of the 2009 Action Programme’s policy formation process. These unofficial debates and power negotiations occurred outside the official plenary sessions or occurred in forums such as the Parliamentary Committee of the Interior where debate transcripts are classified and unavailable to the public. The data derived from the interviews

complements and further contextualizes the data derived from the discourse analysis of parliamentary debate transcripts discussed in section 4.4 and also provides specific insight on the different viewpoints of the various policy makers, institutional

stakeholders, labour market stakeholder, and non-government policy advisors on the individual measures of the 2009 Action Programme on Skilled Labour Migration.

The interview transcripts first underwent a preliminary analysis utilizing ‘open codes’ in order to maintain a general overview over the collected interview data. The purpose of open coding is to enable the researcher to get as close as possible to the