The new citizen’s income is to be paid out to the needy in Germany at the beginning of the year. Thanks to the political agreement in November, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) will be able to pay out the increased standard rates on time on January 1st, said BA CEO Andrea Nahles of the German Press Agency in Nuremberg.
After long negotiations, the Bundestag and Bundesrat gave the go-ahead in November for citizen income, which is to replace Hartz IV in its current form in 2023. “We can work very well with the result,” said Nahles. “There are now relatively clear and simple duties to cooperate and sanctions derived from them if duties to cooperate are violated.”
Under pressure from the Union, the possible sanctions for breaches of duty were tightened compared to the government’s original plans. From January, such cuts in citizen’s income should also be staggered in the event of breaches of duty – for example, if someone does not apply for a job or does not take any action, although this was agreed. The traffic light had also provided for a sanction option in the event of repeated failure to report to the job center.
Nahles said the sanctions are not the focus for the federal agency. Last year, they were only imposed in three percent of cases. “But we also need them sometimes,” says Nahles.
More opinions
DGB boss Yasmin Fahimi told the dpa: “An important result of the citizen benefit reform is the elimination of the mediation priority.” That is exactly the right approach. “Two thirds of the previous so-called Hartz IV recipients have no professional qualifications.” That makes it clear how absurd debates about the alleged abuse of basic security are.
“We have to ensure that these people get the chance to catch up on an educational or vocational qualification so that they can then be integrated into the labor market in the long term,” said the DGB boss.
“If the job centers are to place the unemployed differently in the future, they have to rely on the companies going along with it,” Fahimi continued. “You have to open up new opportunities for people who, for individual reasons, have struggled in the labor market.” She hopes that the shortage of workers and skilled workers in the economy has led to a rethink in some places. In the future, companies should be more willing to work with workers who are not fully trained. “I think something is moving, but it’s not enough.”
