From the BZ editorial team
If the federal government has its way, more Ukrainian refugees should work in Germany in the future. And: earn your own money.
Concrete plans for this are to be presented to the cabinet on Wednesday, as “The Pioneer” reports. Several measures are currently being coordinated, including with the Federal Employment Agency, which is involved in three quarters of the 400 job centers.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz (65, SPD), Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck (54, Greens) and Finance Minister Christian Lindner (44, FDP) are said to have discussed the matter as early as Tuesday evening.
The plan: no major changes to the law, but administrative agreements. “A large number” of Ukrainians are currently completing their language and integration courses in Germany. According to “The Pioneer”, the responsible Federal Ministry of Labor says: “We have to use their potential.” This means: Ukrainians should close gaps in the labor market.
Currently only 18 percent of Ukraine refugees between the ages of 18 and 64 are employed. This was determined by the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). For comparison: In Great Britain the rate is 50 percent, in Denmark it is 53 percent and in the Netherlands it is even 70 percent. This emerges from a study by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
Of the 18 percent employed, 39 percent are employed full-time, 37 percent are employed part-time and 18 percent are employed part-time. Another seven percent are in training or completing an internship.
Around 687,000 people were recently registered at the job centers responsible for Ukrainian refugees, including around 480,000 employable adults.
For some people, citizen’s money is enough
Possible reasons for the low rate: bureaucracy that makes it difficult to recognize professional qualifications, bottlenecks in language courses, Ukrainians who were hoping for a quick end to the war and therefore did not take up work. And: Ukrainians for whom citizen’s money is enough.
BECAUSE: In Germany, people who have fled Ukraine are immediately entitled to citizen’s benefit. “Citizens’ money is not an unconditional basic income. There are obligations to cooperate. “You should try to impart faster and offer language courses alongside work more often,” said Martin Rosemann, labor market policy spokesman for the SPD, told “The Pioneer”.
Reinhard Sager, President of the German District Association, demands: “Refugees from Ukraine who come to Germany should no longer receive citizen’s money directly. Instead, they should receive benefits again in accordance with the Asylum Seekers Benefits Act in the future.”