Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, hand and hitch-up services (i.e. services of manual work and with hitched-up cart or more modern vehicles, german: Hand- und Spanndienste or ''Hand- und Zugdienste'') or more contemporary (mandatory) municipal services (German: "Gemeindedienste") are allowed in some

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

and German states. In the 1950s in rural

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

, citizens were drafted for mandatory

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community without any form of compensation. Community service can be distinct from volunteering, since it is not always performe ...

frequently, but nowadays only small municipalities draft their citizens, like the German town of Winsen an der Aller once a year or Bezau in Austria.

Legal basis

Beside several states' regulations, ''Hand- und Spanndienste'' are backed by international agreements like the agreement on the Forced Labour Convention of the International Labour Organization of 1930. The following work services, especially for military services, are exceptions of forced or compulsory labour: *any work or service which forms part of the normal civic obligations of the citizens of a fully self-governing country; *any work or service exacted in cases of emergency, that is to say, in the event of war, of a Disaster, calamity or threatened calamity, such as fire, flood, famine, earthquake, violent epidemic or epizootic diseases, invasion by: animal, insect or vegetable pests, and in general any circumstance that would endanger the existence or the well-being of the whole or part of the population; *minor communal services of a kind which, being performed by the members of the municipality in the direct interest of the said municipality, can therefore be considered as normal civic obligations incumbent upon the members of the municipality, provided that the members of the municipality or their direct representatives shall have the right to be consulted in regard to the need for such services.

History

Hand and hitch-up services in history were services for the reduction of municipal taxes. The citizens of the municipality were required to do certain physical work, which can be summarised under the historical terms corvée or socage. They were based in Germany on the Prussian municipal tax bill of 14 July 1893 and in Austria on state law regulations. There were different types of services: * Hand services: The citizen must perform work with his own hands. * Hitch-up services (of hitching up draft animals): The person must provide services with a team of horses or carriages (train cattle and dishes). * Shovel services: construction of buildings, construction of roads, ditches Hand and hitch-up services in history often have been done by the public. That was, for example, the setting of field bridges in the fields, the preservation of dams or even the construction of agricultural roads and local roads. The necessary materials (stones, wood, etc.) have usually been provided by the authorities.

Hand and hitch-up services today

Austria

Currently, the Austrian state of Vorarlberg is executing ''Hand- und Zugdienste'' on the level of the municipalities regularly. According to the respective municipal regulations, basically there are two versions of executing the mandatory services for the drafted citizens: in some municipalities the citizens can choose, if the participate on manual work for the community or if the prefer to pay additional taxes as a substitute to the compulsory community work. In other communities, the administration transfered the work to private companies, so every citizen, that is in age to be drafted, has to pay the additional substitute tax. By local law it is determined, who is obliged for ''Hand- und Zugdienste''-services. For example in Bürserberg, only one person per household is obliged to serve, in Bezau all male citizens between the age of 18 and 60 years.

Germany

Even today, municipal regulations in Germany provide that municipalities may, under certain circumstances, oblige their inhabitants to carry out manual and hitch-up services, such as in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria or Lower Saxony. They are public service obligations within the scope of the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, German Constitution and are not contrary to the prohibition of compulsory labor, if following conditions are fullfilled: * Conventionality: compulsory services are intended to reduce the payment of local taxes * Generality: in principle, every member of the municipality is obliged to bear the municipal burdens * Equality: every member of the municipality is obliged in the same way

References