Request for minimum wages: Focus on workshops for people with disabilities

Request for minimum wages: Focus on workshops for people with disabilities

Tanja Schmitt, who has been in a AWO workshop since 1999, expresses her displeasure with unfair payment. "It is not just that we do not receive the same wages as colleagues on the general labor market," explains the 49-year-old. Her colleague, Katja Kaiser, who works in a workshop due to mental illnesses, follows this concern. "We notice that our work is just as valuable and that we earn an appropriate payment," she adds. Both are involved in the workshop council to draw attention to their demands.

The complexity of the system

The discussion about payment in workshops has been running for years and affects many areas. Workers' welfare (AWO) in Ensdorf knows the problem exactly. Julien Boussonville, who heads the workshops for people with disabilities, speaks of a complicated system of help and increase, which makes the situation of the employees difficult. He currently sees no way to realize a minimum wage without external grants. "It is unfortunate that we cannot pay fair wages without additional funds," he explains.

The workshop system is a mixture of social establishment and economic operation. This leads to various challenges: On the one hand, the need to act economically and on the other hand the obligation to take care of the needs of employees. Daniel Bieber, former disabled representative of the Saarland, emphasizes that the payment and fulfillment of the inclusion order are often neglected in this context.

"I advocate that the subsidies for workshops should depend on the achievement of the inclusion rate to create pressure to change," says Bieber.

a large number of employees

In the Druck Center of Reha GmbH in Saarbrücken, around 550 people with disabilities work at six different locations. Jörg Denne, who has been working there for 30 years, criticizes that bonus payments are often deducted from wages. Head Tanja Gailing contradicts the allegations regarding low integration rates and explains that barriers in the labor market and attitudes of people often make it difficult to mediate in regular jobs.

To improve the situation, two proposals are currently being discussed: a basic income for workshop employees or the introduction of a minimum wage with employment relationships subject to social security contributions. Katja Kaiser and Tanja Schmitt are committed to a fairer remuneration and are determined to put pressure on those responsible.

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