Criticisms on Bureaucracy: "Ukrainians Are Anxious to Work"
The argument is heating up: Does generous civil servant wages deterring more Ukrainians from seeking work in Germany stand up? Oleksandra Bienert, the chairwoman of the Alliance of Ukrainian Organizations in Germany, flat-out denies this. "It's the system," she states, and has a proposed solution.
In a conversation with RND (Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland), Bienert dismissed the idea that wages were discouraging employment. "The slow progress of labor market integration is most certainly not due to this," she remarked. "Ukrainians desire work because it's about respect. Who wants to spend their days idling in front of the TV?" Bienert further stated: "It's the system that's hindering people." Employers grapple with excessive bureaucracy. Moreover, the acknowledgement of Ukrainian professional degrees takes far too long.
Bienert made clear: "The key to resolving the issue lies in streamlining the system, expediting recognition, and assisting employers more. The longer individuals stay, the deeper their roots grow." Bienert does not believe that behind the debate lies a declining acceptance of Ukrainian refugees in Germany. "We continue to experience support," Bienert expressed.
Brandenburg's Interior Minister, Michael Stübgen of the CDU spoke with RND, stating that providing civil servant wages to Ukrainian refugees "has been a disastrous mistake." The employment rate of Ukrainians is minimal, the civil servant salary "serves as an obstacle for employment," he stated. "The federal government must seriously reconsider its course," Stübgen noted.
FDP Vice-Chairman, Johannes Vogel, advocated for a universally reduced level of financial state support for Ukrainian refugees at a European level. "It appears that harmonizing a lower regulatory framework with employment opportunities offered by civil servant wages and intermediary structures may seem legally possible," Vogel also expressed to RND. It is crucial and just to grant protection to individuals from Ukraine who have fled the Russian assault. "Simultaneously, there's validity in aiming for a balanced distribution and a uniformly reduced level of state benefits for newcomers in the context of the extension of the corresponding EU directive," Vogel explained.
Regarding FDP General Secretary, Bijan Djir-Sarai's suggestion to cease paying civil servant wages to newcomers from Ukraine and offer them lower asylum seeker benefits instead, Vogel expressed disagreement. With the proposed system change, other employment mediation regulations would also come into play. Job opportunities "should certainly exist from day one, the aim is to get Ukrainian refugees into the labor market as soon as possible," Vogel declared. "There is still room for improvement in Germany compared to this."
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Despite the criticisms towards high bureaucracy, Bienert emphasizes that the slow labor market integration of Ukrainian refugees is not due to generous wages, but rather the lengthy recognition process for their professional degrees and excessive bureaucracy faced by employers. The attack on Ukraine by Russia has led to an influx of refugees, and some politicians, like Brandenburg's Interior Minister, suggest reducing the financial state support for Ukrainian refugees, believing it serves as an obstacle for employment.
