Compulsory Community Service Enforced for Welfare Beneficiaries by German District Leader
In a bid to reform the costly Bürgergeld welfare scheme in Germany, Ulli Schafer, a politician from the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in eastern Germany, has proposed that welfare recipients should be required to participate in a service program. Schafer, who represents the district of Greiz with a population of 94,000 inhabitants in the State of Thuringia, made these comments in an interview with German magazine Focus on September 1. He announced the extension of the service program to all capable asylum seekers on the occasion of the one-year-anniversary of its introduction in September 2024. The service program in Greiz has been a successful model, according to Schafer. Asylum seekers participate in service for public, communal, or non-profit employers and receive a salary of €0.80 per hour. Schafer reported 64 asylum seekers found regular employment through the program. In the program, asylum seekers work for various organisations, contributing to the community while gaining valuable work experience. Schafer stated that the program has a lasting effect, not just providing short-term employment for asylum seekers. Schafer's administration is preparing a letter to Federal Minister of Labour and Social Affairs Bärbel Bas (SPD) regarding the implementation of mandatory service. Bärbel Bas, a German politician from the Social Democratic Party (SPD), is the President of the German Bundestag. Schafer suggested that legislators create the necessary conditions for extending mandatory service to Bürgergeld recipients, regardless of their nationality. He expressed concerns about the potential for delays in necessary reforms due to sceptics in working groups and commissions at the federal level. The ruling coalition of CDU and SPD is considering reforms to the Bürgergeld welfare scheme. The proposed reform is part of a larger package aimed at reforming the costly Bürgergeld welfare scheme, which is expected to cost Germany €43 billion in 2025. Schafer has had positive experiences with mandatory service for asylum seekers in his district and wants to expand this model to welfare recipients throughout Germany. He expressed satisfaction with the positive responses from the public, those responsible for implementing the measures, and asylum seekers regarding the service program in Greiz. The service program in Greiz was first introduced in September 2024, and Schafer announced the extension of mandatory service to all capable asylum seekers in November 2024. The program is considered a successful model that Schafer wants to expand to welfare recipients throughout Germany.
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