Finances - NRW Minister of Labor Laumann calls for rapid reform of citizen's income
North Rhine-Westphalia's Minister of Labor and Social Affairs Karl-Josef Laumann (CDU) has called for a swift tightening of sanctions for recipients of the citizen's income who repeatedly refuse reasonable offers of work. "Too many people have the impression that the citizen's income is in fact an unconditional basic income," Laumann told the German Press Agency. This is also due to the fact that the previous regulations on reducing benefits were extremely bureaucratic and almost impossible to implement. "That is now falling on our feet."
The legislative reform announced by Federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) regarding the citizen's allowance for job refusers must therefore come very quickly. "It is simply a question of justice that those who can work also go to work," emphasized Laumann. "Otherwise, we run the risk of people losing faith in the welfare state at some point."
According to the NRW minister, the CDU employment ministers of the federal states had been calling for years for payments to be suspended for persistent refusers. It was therefore good that Heil was now taking up the proposal. According to Laumann, anyone who does not cooperate with the job center at all should have to reckon with a complete withdrawal of benefits.
SPD Federal Minister Heil had proposed to the federal government that the standard citizen's benefit rate of 563 euros per month (for single people) should be withdrawn for up to two months in future if someone repeatedly refuses reasonable offers of work. The state would only continue to pay the costs for accommodation and heating so that the unemployed do not become homeless. Currently, the job centers are allowed to cut a maximum of 30 percent of the citizen's allowance.
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- In response to Laumann's call, Germany's federal Minister of Labor Hubertus Heil (SPD) has promised swift action to tighten sanctions for repeated work refusals among citizen's income recipients.
- The CDU, including Laumann, has long advocated for the suspension of payments for persistent refusers, a proposal now being considered by Heil.
- The tightening of sanctions is aimed at addressing the perceived issue that the citizen's income has become an 'unconditional basic income' for some recipients.
- The proposed reform would allow for the suspension of the full citizen's allowance instead of the current maximum 30% reduction, for individuals who repeatedly refuse reasonable job offers.
- Laumann, speaking in Düsseldorf, emphasized that justice necessitates that those who can work should do so, to prevent public disillusionment with the welfare state.
- Despite the potential benefits of this reform, critics argue that it could lead to hardship for some citizens, particularly in regions like North Rhine-Westphalia that have high unemployment rates.
- The German Press Agency reported that Karl-Josef Laumann, the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs in North Rhine-Westphalia, made these statements at a press conference in Düsseldorf, highlighting the ongoing financial challenges facing the region.
Source: www.stern.de
