80 cents per hour
Esken “doesn’t believe” in compulsory work for asylum seekers
February 29, 2024, 10:12 p.m
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Instead of forcing refugees to work for less than one euro per hour, SPD leader Saskia Esken would rather pave the way for them to get them into jobs subject to social security contributions more quickly. This would lead to better long-term results.
The SPD chairwoman Saskia Esken has spoken out against requiring asylum seekers to do community service. “I don’t think anything of it,” she told the “Thüringer Allgemeine”. Similar measures have been tried unsuccessfully with the long-term unemployed in the past. “In view of the shortage of skilled workers, it is now much better to get refugees into employment subject to social security contributions more quickly and easily.”
In the Saale-Orla district in eastern Thuringia, asylum seekers are to be required to work four hours a day. The refugees are supposed to do simple jobs for 80 cents per hour. If they refuse, they risk having their benefits cut. In Saxony-Anhalt, some districts are also considering how compulsory work for refugees could be organized.
Esken also shoots against Alliance Sahra Wagenknecht
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil believes such a work obligation makes sense in individual cases. Paragraph 5 of the Asylum Seekers’ Benefits Act states literally: “Able to work, non-employed beneficiaries who are no longer of compulsory school age are obliged to take up a job opportunity that is made available to them.” However, this currently applies to charitable activities for residents of collective accommodation – at a wage of 80 cents per hour. Activities in the private sector are only possible after three months at the earliest.
Esken also commented on the Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW). From the current perspective, she sees “no basis” for collaboration with the BSW. “I wouldn’t give a long lifespan to a party that limits itself primarily to the cult of one person,” she told the newspaper. “Wagenknecht’s political goals and content are hardly recognizable, not even when it comes to the issue of Ukraine.”