Schwerin is the first city obligation for citizen benefit recipients!

in Schwerin, the first city in Germany, citizens' money recipients will have to be obliged to work in the future. In its last meeting before the turn of the year, the city council voted 24 to 16 votes (one abstention) for the application of the CDU. In the future, citizens' money recipients will be encouraged to perform services in non-profit organizations such as daycare centers, associations and schools. The model is based on an example from the Saale-Orla district (Thuringia), where asylum seekers are obliged to work on non-profit work and receive 80 cents per hour.

The original application only referred to asylum seekers, but was extended to the recipient of the citizens' money. CDU parliamentary group leader Gert Rudolf expressed that it was necessary to request a consideration for government benefits. Citizens' benefit is considered a social benefit for people who are employable who cannot cover their livelihood from their own income or assets. At the end of 2023 there were around 5.5 million citizens' fees in Germany.

reactions and challenges

The decision to introduce an obligation to work causes nationwide a stir. Anyone who refuses to be obliged risk reducing his state services, such as "https://www.rnd.de/politik/arbeit-fuergelempfaenger-Schwerin-fuer-fuer-bundes-bpcrganrhbd67ei5dguazfdu6a.html"> rnd.de reported. Mayor Rico Badenschier (SPD) voted against the application and criticized the high personnel and cost efforts. Citizens' allowance recipients should receive a wage of one to two euros per hour, which is regarded as not refinanced. The SPD parliamentary group leader Mandy Pfeifer considers the implementation hardly feasible.

The Federal Office of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) also informs that citizen benefit recipients who take on an additional job can earn more than one euro, since additional allowances are paid in addition to the basic security benefits. The CDU has anchored the citizens' allowance as a central point in its Bundestag election campaign. In Thuringia, some district administrators have already introduced labor obligations for asylum seekers, while the experiences are different and some measures are rated as ineffective.