The district administrator of the Saale-Orla district in eastern Thuringia wants to let asylum seekers work for 80 cents per hour as compensation. His CDU celebrates him for this. The legal regulation has been in place since 1993, and the discussion about it is by no means new. The suggestion could have another reason.
What is it about?
District Administrator Christian Herrgott from the CDU plans to require asylum seekers to work. This is about four hours per day. No wages are paid, but an expense allowance of 80 cents per hour. “I hope that the proposal will ensure that those who have come to us as refugees or asylum seekers will actually get a meaningful daily structure and do charitable work for four hours a day and also give something back to the society that accommodates and supports them here Work,” said Lord ntv. He also said in the “Bild” newspaper that asylum seekers “shouldn’t sit on a park bench all day.”
Can asylum seekers be required to work?
Yes. Herrgott’s proposal is based on the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act. In Paragraph 5 It states that asylum seekers should be provided with “work opportunities, particularly for the maintenance and operation of the facility”. This also applies to job opportunities at state, municipal and non-profit organizations, “if the results of the work serve the general public”. Asylum seekers, as long as they are not employed or required to attend school, “are obliged to take up work opportunities provided”.
The paragraph also sets out the 80 cents. The compensation can be increased if the costs for the activity – such as work clothing or travel costs – are demonstrably higher. In addition, benefits can be reduced in the event of an “unfounded rejection of such an activity”. According to the Saale-Orla district, there is a risk of financial cuts of up to 180 euros per month.
There is no work obligation that goes beyond this. District council president Reinhard Sager called for this in October. “Anyone who is healthy and not handicapped has to work. There has to be a duty to work,” he told the “Bild” newspaper. He mentioned charitable work – but also work in the catering industry, i.e. in the private sector.
Since when have the job opportunities existed?
They are by no means new, but were introduced in 1993 when the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act was first passed under the black and yellow government. At that time 2 D-Marks were paid, which became 1.05 euros when the old currency was abolished. In 2016, under the grand coalition, the expense allowance was reduced to 80 cents. The then Labor Minister Andrea Nahles from the SPD justified this by saying that most asylum seekers were placed in reception centers and therefore only had low expenses.
In addition, between 2016 and 2020, as part of the Integration Act, which responded to the large number of newly arriving refugees at the time, so-called refugee integration measures (FIM) were introduced, which were intended to create up to 100,000 job opportunities annually. Analogous to the one-euro jobs, the work opportunities at that time were known as 80-cent jobs.
How were the job opportunities received?
Given the number of refugees: moderate. Nahles, who is now chairwoman of the Federal Employment Agency, also says today that municipalities would use the option of compulsory work “rather cautiously”. The number of people who take up work opportunities is recorded in the asylum seeker performance statistics of the Federal Statistical Office. “However, the number of work opportunities provided is not available,” the Federal Ministry of Labor (BMAS) tells ntv.de upon request. It is therefore unclear how many of the jobs created were not filled.
According to the BMAS, a total of 13,325 asylum seekers took up work opportunities in 2018, and the following year there were 12,320. In 2020 the number fell to 9,320, and in the following year it rose to 10,615. There was a further increase in 2022, when 17,100 asylum seekers accepted corresponding jobs. Data for 2023 is not yet available.
The labor market program Refugee Integration Measures (FIM), which aimed for 100,000 participants, met with little interest. “Shortly after the funding guidelines came into force in mid-2016, it became clear that this target was significantly higher than the actual need,” says the BMAS. In 2017, the annual average was just under 6,000, and in 2018 it fell sharply to only around 2,500. The following year, according to the ministry, there was a further decline to around 1,600. In the last year of the measure, 2020, there were still 900 participants.
How else are asylum seekers allowed to work?
Access to the German labor market is severely restricted for newly arrived refugees. According to the current legal situation, they are only allowed to work after three months at the earliest. For asylum seekers who live in a reception center and do not have any minor children, it is even nine months. Asylum seekers from so-called safe countries of origin have no access to the labor market.
What are the reactions to the initiative? Saale-Orla district?
Thuringia’s CDU leader Mario Voigt defends the initiative. “We have to send the message: Anyone who experiences the solidarity of the community in Germany must also give something back,” he told the Germany editorial network. CDU General Secretary Carsten Linnemann told the “Bild” newspaper: “Anything that strengthens the principle of supporting and demanding is to be welcomed.” This applies “not only to recipients of citizenship benefits, but also to asylum seekers”.
The state government made up of the Left, SPD and Greens criticized the plan. “Mr. Herrgott is doing exactly what right-wing groups are currently trying to do: he is using the false narrative of work-shy refugees,” said Green Integration Minister Doreen Denstädt. It is known that most refugees wanted to work, but failed because of work bans and excessive bureaucracy.
Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil believes that a work requirement for asylum seekers makes sense in individual cases. “It is current law that municipalities can oblige asylum seekers who live in shared accommodation to do community service,” he told the “Bild” newspaper. “In individual cases it may also make sense to employ people in collective accommodation during the sometimes long waiting period.”
There was sharp criticism from the German Federation of Trade Unions: “Compulsory work for refugees is another insubstantial highlight of the debates on the backs of refugees,” said DGB board member Anja Piel. If you are placed in a job, it must be a good job with social security.
What fundamental criticism is there of the work opportunities?
The main point of criticism is the creation of a parallel labor market. The law expressly states that the work opportunities for asylum seekers do not constitute an employment relationship within the meaning of labor law or a socially insured employment relationship. Minister Heil also criticized the fact that sustainable labor market integration with job opportunities would not be successful. The aim is to get people who have found protection here permanently into work subject to social security contributions.
“The bureaucratic effort involved in job opportunities is enormous for municipalities,” the German Association of Cities and Municipalities told ntv.de. In addition, the possibilities for sanctions are limited. Another point is the possible competition with the local economy. “The job opportunities often consist of the same activities, such as trimming trees and mowing lawns in parks. However, this work is carried out by local companies, which could come into competition with the asylum seekers. A better option would be regular employment for all those with Prospect to stay.”
Why are we now discussing job opportunities again?
The possibilities of work opportunities have been around since 1993. Since then, they have been a topic on and off. In 2018, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann wanted a further 5,000 job opportunities for refugees in the state create.
There are probably various reasons why the topic is coming up again. Municipalities have been complaining for a long time about the burden of new refugees. The federal government made up of the SPD, Greens and FDP is often accused of not doing enough to limit migration. Thuringia’s CDU state leader Voigt said that the district’s decision was a “sign of the necessary limitation of immigration”.
CDU politician Herrgott narrowly defeated an AfD candidate in the district election at the end of January – this would have been the second AfD district administrator in Germany after Sonneberg in Thuringia. Herrgott’s move and his criticism of asylum seekers could be an attempt to convince local AfD voters of his policies and to counteract further division in the population.
The move could also serve to take the wind out of the AfD’s sails. The state elections in Thuringia are coming up in autumn. According to surveys, the AfD – which the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as definitely right-wing extremist – is the strongest party, with a lead of more than ten percentage points over the CDU. Then the Left and BSW follow, ahead of the SPD and the Greens.
A comment from a CDU member of the state parliament also seems like a defiant reaction to the AfD: “Speaking of which, what is Germany’s first AfD district administrator actually doing in #Sonneberg? Nothing but hot air: neither a #payment card nor a work obligation for #refugees! Some are agitating, the others do!” wrote Beate Meißner on X.