- CDU leader calls for citizens' money to be abolished
Brandenburg's CDU state leader, Jan Redmann, believes that the current unemployment benefit system lacks incentives for work and has called for its abolition. Farmers, restaurateurs, and craftsmen have reported to him that they can no longer find employees. The situation in retail is no different, according to Redmann. "At the same time, too few people are transitioning from unemployment benefits to the job market. We can no longer afford this imbalance," he said.
The CDU's top candidate advocates for a basic security system that "creates incentives for people to return to work".
Increase in unemployment benefit recipients
According to the Berlin-Brandenburg Employment Agency, the number of unemployed people receiving unemployment benefits was 55,344 in April, an increase of 1,745 compared to the previous year.
When looking at the total number of employable people entitled to unemployment benefits, there has also been an increase: in April of this year, the number was 112,233, compared to 111,330 a year earlier. However, in April 2014, there were 187,207 employable people entitled to unemployment benefits.
In June, the payment of unemployment benefits to Ukrainian refugees in Brandenburg sparked a debate. After criticism of the unemployment benefit system by Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU), SPD faction leader Daniel Keller said at the time that the focus should be on getting Ukrainians into work quickly. The Left faction leader, Sebastian Walter, considers unemployment benefits to be the only sensible way to bring refugees into work.
Given Brandenburg's CDU state leader's concerns about the unemployment benefit system, he proposes replacing the current system with a basic security system that provides stronger incentives for work, specifically a basic insurance.
The CDU's top candidate believes that implementing a basic insurance system would encourage more individuals who are currently on unemployment benefits to re-enter the workforce, helping to address the current imbalance in the job market.
