Status: 03/25/2022 11:52 a.m
Labor Minister Heil wants to prevent higher armaments spending because of the Ukraine war from being borne by the welfare state. Pensions must remain stable and refugees must be quickly integrated into the labor market.
Against the background of the Ukraine war, Federal Labor Minister Hubertus Heil announced that the planned rearmament and aid for Ukrainian refugees should not be at the expense of the people in Germany. “We must not play off pensions against armaments in this society, and by the way, we must not play off refugees against locals,” Heil said during the consultation on the budget for labor and social affairs in the Bundestag. There should be no “either/or”.
Vladimir Putin’s attack on Ukraine “forces us to realign our policies in many ways,” said Heil. But it’s about “that we don’t lose sight of those who don’t have it easy in other times either”. Politicians have supported the labor market in the pandemic with means such as short-time work and economic aid, among other things. Now the government will also bring the labor market robustly through the crisis resulting from the Ukraine war. “We will fight for every job,” says Heil.
Heil sticks to minimum wage increase
Other tasks should not be neglected despite the Ukraine crisis, said Heil. The traffic light coalition will therefore increase the minimum wage to twelve euros as planned on October 1st, “so that those who keep the shop running actually get the wages they are entitled to”. And it is therefore also right that pensions are kept stable.
Easier labor market access for refugees
Heil announced that in the coming week employers, trade unions, social organizations and the federal states will discuss how refugees from Ukraine can be integrated into the labor market as quickly as possible. The first thing people need is emergency aid, but they also need the prospect of staying. “To do this, we must and will create access to the labor market,” said Heil. Ukrainians have access to integration and language courses and are allowed to work. But it will also be about school and daycare places and faster recognition of the qualifications that people bring with them, said Heil. It’s about creating opportunities where people have the opportunity to work.
Heil did not expressly comment on a further extension of the simplified short-time work rules that have been in force since the beginning of the pandemic. However, he emphasized that he wanted to continue to ensure secure jobs and mitigate the social and economic consequences of the crisis. Heil referred to the coalition’s two relief packages, which provide for extra payments to families and the socially disadvantaged as well as a subsidy of 300 euros for the energy costs of private households. He had told the editorial network Germany that he could imagine extending the simplified access to short-time work because of the consequences of the Ukraine war.
Ministry of Labor with a budget of 160 billion
The Union’s social expert, Stephan Stracke, accused the traffic light coalition of not being sufficient for its resolutions to relieve the burden of high energy costs. Stracke mentioned, among other things, the planned energy money and the one-off payments for the needy. “All of this does not help the manufacturing industry enough,” said the CSU politician. Bridging aids are needed for the economy.
Results at the end of the budget week
Tom Schneider, ARD Berlin, daily news at 12:00 p.m., March 25, 2022
The Minister of Labor’s budget is by far the largest single budget in the federal budget and envisages expenditures of around 160 billion euros for this year. Compared to the previous year, this is almost three percent less, in particular lower expenditure for the long-term unemployed and social benefits is planned, which the left-wing faction criticized as unrealistic. The largest expenditure item of 116 billion euros are federal funds for pensions.