Hartz IV once introduced a red-green federal government.
The parties involved at the time are no longer happy with the system.
The Greens want to replace it - SPD Minister Heil is planning a reform.
Berlin
- is it the next directional decision before the
federal election
?
The
Green parliamentary group
wants to
abolish
sanctions for Hartz IV recipients
.
It is important that people are “on an equal footing with the state”, said the social policy spokesman Sven Lehmann on Friday in Berlin when presenting a ten-page concept for a new guarantee.
With this, the Greens want to "overcome" Hartz IV and replace it.
The Greens * are not alone with the demands for Hartz reforms - the SPD also wants to make improvements in the election year.
The two parties who
once introduced
the strict system under
Angela Merkel's predecessor Gerhard Schröder *
(SPD) agree: Hartz IV must be changed.
Federal election 2021: SPD also wants to change Hartz IV - at least the Corona rule should stay longer
According
to a report by
Spiegel
,
Labor Minister Hubertus Heil
(SPD *)
wants
to simplify access to Hartz IV and
consolidate
the
exceptions from the corona pandemic
.
"Currently the job centers do not check how big an apartment is or whether someone has savings of up to 60,000 euros," Heil told the magazine.
"My suggestion is that we protect assets up to the stated amount during a waiting period of two years and that we do not check rental costs for their appropriateness."
According to the report, the proposal is part of a current
draft law to reform basic security
from Heils Ministry.
In order to help people out of basic security more quickly, the minister wants "further training and a professional qualification to have priority over short-term placement in work", says Heil.
"In addition, we support the people who do further training with a bonus of 75 euros per month."
Greens and SPD for Hartz change: relief for people from "need communities"?
The
green guarantee,
in turn, should benefit people who cannot make a living - not only the
unemployed
, but also
low-
wage earners
.
According to the Greens, the standard rates should rise, and those who earn money should be allowed to keep more of it.
"The green guarantee is unbureaucratic and free of stigmatization," declared the labor market spokesman for the parliamentary group, Wolfgang Strengmann-Kuhn.
"We remove hurdles that lead to high levels of hidden poverty."
The Greens group wants to permanently abolish so
-called
benefit communities
, in which the partner's income is used to determine a support claim, first for
unmarried people
.
Because, unlike married couples, they also do not benefit from tax advantages, so the argument goes.
The asset check should be omitted, the information provided by those affected should only be checked in justified cases.
Greens / SPD: Enough of the Schröder reforms - parliamentary group vice-president expects costs in the double-digit billion range
The deputy group leader
Anja Hajduk put the
annual cost of the reform
at a
low double-digit billion amount
.
The proposals should be seen as part of broader labor and social policy reform ideas, such as raising the minimum wage to twelve euros and strengthening the collective bargaining system.
The Hartz reforms were introduced between 2003 and 2005 by the red-green federal government under Schröder.
In some cases, they led to noticeable cuts in social benefits, such as the duration of unemployment benefits.
Hartz IV debate in the election year: VdK and DGB delighted - FDP fears "basic income through the back door"
The
social association VdK
welcomed the proposed increase in the standard rates and the Greens plans as a whole.
"The time is ripe for a new, basic social security", explained
President Verena Bentele
.
"However, the planned incremental increase must not lead to long delays."
Anja Piel
, member of the board of directors at the
German Trade Union Confederation
, explained with a view to the Greens: “This advance outlines real opportunities to finally overcome the existing Hartz IV misery.” It is correct and important that the Greens “consider the low wage sector and precarious work central causes of poverty ”.
The
FDP
criticized the concept of the Greens parliamentary group. "The waiver of sanctions and the increase in benefits are the introduction of the unconditional basic income through the back door," said the socio-political spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group,
Pascal Kober
. The costs would be better invested in education and professional qualifications, he said. (
dpa / fn / AFP
) *
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