Worry about job centers
Heil’s social budget is met with widespread criticism
“The standard rates for citizens’ money ensure the subsistence level – nothing more and nothing less,” said Hubertus Heil (SPD). photo
© Michael Kappeler/dpa
The citizens’ benefit introduced at the beginning of the year is actually intended to improve support for the unemployed. But members of the Bundestag are warning: Funds for job centers are now to be cut.
Exchange of blows on the social budget in the Bundestag: Politicians from the opposition and also from the coalition have planned funding cuts Job center heavily criticized. Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) defended the planned increase in citizens’ benefits at the same time in the budget debate on Friday. He rejected a further increase in the retirement age.
The green coalition partner reported a need for improvements to the plans for the job centers. “The cut in funds for the administration and integration title runs completely counter to the efforts associated with the citizens’ benefit reform,” said their social expert Frank Bsirske. “Wanting to provide more and better services with fewer resources cannot work.” In reality, job centers need more money, not less.
Citizens’ money was introduced at the beginning of the year as the government’s largest social reform to date. The standard rates rose by around 50 euros, and those affected should also be better looked after by the job centers.
Gröhe: SPD is driving its own reform to the wall
Union parliamentary group vice-president Hermann Gröhe (CDU) said that 200 million euros should be saved for the administrative costs of the job centers alone, although the recent collective agreement for the public service even caused additional costs of 300 million euros. “The administration’s missing funds are taken from the integration funds, and they then reduce them by another 200 million.” Funds that were actually intended for further training courses had previously been used to pay staff. Gröhe said that the SPD was driving its own citizen’s money reform into the wall.
The Greens also demanded that the government refrain from the planned transfer of care for hundreds of thousands of unemployed people under 25 from job centers to employment agencies. In the future, the approximately 700,000 people affected will be covered by unemployment insurance and no longer by taxpayers. The labor department’s budget would be reduced by around 900 million euros.
Bsirske said that there was a risk of “a gap in the social and care network”. Gröhe criticized: “You are destroying aid organizations for young unemployed people.” The left-wing parliamentary group vice-president Gesine Lötzsch stated: “You are not helping young people with this.” FDP parliamentary group deputy Claudia Raffelhüschen was reserved at this point. The question must first be clarified as to whether these are real austerity measures.
Single budget with the highest expenditure
Overall, Heil’s budget, with planned expenditure of 171.7 billion euros, is by far the single largest budget in the 2024 federal budget. In the current year, the budget includes 166.2 billion euros. The draft earmarks 24.3 billion euros for citizens’ benefit, previously unemployment benefit II, around 500 million more than in the current year. However, the draft envisages a reduction in funding of EUR 200 million to EUR 4.2 billion for integration into work.
The AfD MP René Springer criticized that the coalition had used citizen’s money to create a situation “in which many employable people consciously withdraw from the labor market.” Existence as a recipient of transfer benefits is much more lucrative “than pursuing an honest job.”
Heil rejected criticism of the planned increase in citizens’ money. “The standard rates for citizens’ money ensure the subsistence level – nothing more and nothing less,” said the minister. It is “social poison” to pit employees and those in need against each other. CDU leader Friedrich Merz also criticized the planned increase in citizens’ allowance by around 60 euros for single people at the beginning of next year.
At the same time, Heil confirmed that he would soon present a law for more collective bargaining. This also ensures higher incomes. Heil also confirmed that he would “shortly” present a pension package “that will permanently establish and stabilize the pension level for future generations.” He once again rejected a further increase in the statutory retirement age. “I think that’s alien to life and unfair,” said Heil.