As of: March 8, 2024, 12:50 p.m
By: Peter Sieben
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In the Saale-Orla district in Thuringia, refugees are now obliged to work.
That doesn't necessarily contribute to integration, say experts.
Above all, one crucial point is missing.
Erfurt/Berlin – The initiative caused discussions nationwide: The Thuringian CDU district administrator Christian Herrgott obliges asylum seekers to work.
In the Saale-Orla district, refugees are now expected to work four hours a day for 80 cents per hour.
Anyone who refuses will face cuts in money.
Bodo Ramelow on the obligation to work for refugees: “My path would be different”
There was support from the state CDU.
Its boss Mario Voigt said: “We have to send the message: Anyone who experiences the solidarity of the community in Germany must also give something back.” Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow, however, does not believe in letting refugees work for “pocket money”.
“My path would be completely different.
I want people to no longer be banned from working, as is the case with many at the moment,” said Ramelow in an interview with
IPPEN.MEDIA
.
The Federal Government's Advisory Council on Integration and Migration (SVR) has now raised concerns.
According to SVR expert Winfried Kluth, the regulation may not be compatible with the Basic Law based on previous legal interpretation by the Federal Constitutional Court.
Paragraph 12 states that no one may be forced to do a specific job.
“There are only two exceptions: a conventional general public service obligation that is the same for everyone and forced labor in the event of a court-ordered deprivation of liberty,” said Kluth.
“Neither one nor the other case exists here.”
Require refugees to work under threat of sanctions?
Possibly contradictory to the Basic Law
According to the expert, the obligation to work for asylum seekers with the possibility of sanctions could be understood as an interference with the personal freedom of individuals, based on previous decisions of the Federal Constitutional Court.
Compatibility with the Basic Law is then questionable.
But even beyond legal considerations, there are doubts about the sense of the measure.
“The allocation of work and the simultaneous threat of sanctions produce a false understanding of non-profit status.
According to engagement research, this could prove to be a hindrance to the desired voluntary commitment,” says Kluth.
Council of Experts doubts benefits of integration
Meanwhile, proponents of compulsory work emphasize that it will also accelerate the integration of refugees.
“It is of course about giving the refugees a daily structure and preparing those who can work for the first job market,” said CDU district administrator Christian Herrgott about his initiative.
The SVR doesn’t necessarily believe this: “It’s true that employment makes an important contribution to integration.
But it is very doubtful whether this can happen as a result of a work obligation for asylum seekers,” said SVR chairman Hans Vorländer.
Ultimately, the prescribed work “would hardly correspond to the qualifications or interests of those affected”.