Citizen work

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Citizen work is a term for very different concepts for performing activities in the public interest for which there is no regular labor market.

The relevant linguistic usage is inconsistent in detail. Partly it is understood as a voluntary activity, but partly also the assignment of a measure , which is reinforced with penalties that are disadvantageous for the person concerned in the case of refusal.

In the latter case, it is a concept of so-called workfare (Work + Social Welfare = workfare, i.e. "work and social assistance"), which aims to provide recipients of basic security benefits for jobseekers in Germany (before 2005: unemployment benefits and social assistance ) to activate and use in a charitable work at the municipal level.

Concept of the Bavarian-Saxon Future Commission 1996/1997

The concept of citizen work originally goes back to the "Commission for Future Issues of the Free States of Bavaria and Saxony", which in 1996 and 1997, chaired by Meinhard Miegel, presented a three-part report entitled: "Employment and unemployment in Germany: Development, causes, measures ”.

The Commission, who u. a. Also the sociologist Ulrich Beck belonged, defined the citizen work as one

“Voluntary social commitment, which is project-bound (and therefore limited in time) in cooperative, self-organized forms of work under the direction of an entrepreneur for the common good, authorized, coordinated with the (communal) committee for citizen work, advised and carried out. Citizen work is not rewarded, but is rewarded and in fact immaterially (through qualifications, honors, the recognition of pension entitlements and social time, 'favor credits' etc.). In material terms, those who are existentially dependent on it receive citizenship money. The standards are the same as for the granting of social assistance; therefore the necessary funds can be drawn from the budgets of social assistance and, if necessary, unemployment benefits. However, the recipients of citizen benefits are - other things being equal - no recipients of social or unemployment assistance, as they are non-profit-making in voluntary initiatives. They are also not available to the labor market if they do not want to. You are not unemployed. "

Citizen work is therefore a new form of voluntary work , which is socially recognized and which in particular also entails payment in the form of a citizen's benefit , which is higher than the welfare benefits of that time, social assistance and unemployment assistance. It is essential that this is a voluntary activity, "beyond gainful employment and beyond the obligation to work for social assistance recipients" .

Introduction of basic security for job seekers in 2005

The above basic ideas were then no longer taken up in the revision of the social assistance and unemployment assistance law in the course of the so-called Hartz concept . The aim of the second book of the Social Security Code , which came into force in 2005, focuses on “supporting employable people in need of assistance in taking up or maintaining employment and [to] secure their livelihood” ( § 1  SGB ​​II). Since then, the “principle of demands” has been included in Section 2 of  SGB ​​II. There it says in Section 2, Paragraph 1, Clause 3 of SGB II: "If gainful employment on the general labor market is not possible in the foreseeable future, the employable person in need of assistance has to take on a reasonable job opportunity offered to him."

The provision of services can be made dependent on the person concerned taking up such an activity, provided it is reasonable for him. The legal basis for such work opportunities with additional expense allowance is § 16d  SGB ​​II. They have become known colloquially as so-called "one-euro jobs". The rejection of such an activity by the person concerned can be  sanctioned with the reduction of the benefits according to § 16d SGB ​​II if it would have been reasonable for him to accept the activity and carry it out.

Primarily in Bavaria, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt, unemployed people in need of assistance were obliged to do so-called “citizen work” in public institutions, the payment of which by the municipalities is only slightly above the standard rates for basic security.

Model project citizen work from 2011–2014

In July 2010, the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs started the model project citizen work based on a similar project in Bad Schmiedeberg. From January 15, 2011, around 34,000 so-called citizen workplaces will be available for this purpose. The project is supported by around half of the job centers that manage recipients of unemployment benefit II. First of all, an attempt should be made to place unemployed, employable beneficiaries in a six-month activation phase through a potential analysis, counseling and qualification in the primary labor market. If the integration efforts fail, selected participants can be placed in a citizen's workplace. These activities must be additional and in the public interest. This can be, for example, an escort service for the elderly and the disabled with visits to authorities and doctors, the support of instructors in popular sports, cooking and serving lunch for the needy or the maintenance of green areas. Citizen workers who work 30 hours a week should receive 1,080 euros a month for this, and 720 euros for 20 hours a week. These amounts include the employer's social security expenses. The citizen workers are not insured for unemployment when they are employed (Section 421u SGB III). After deducting the social security contributions, employees who work a 30-hour week are paid a gross salary of 900 euros, approx. 730 euros net. The funds for the model project came from the federal budget (230 million euros per year) and the European Social Fund (200 million euros per year). The project ends on December 31, 2014.

Uwe Schummer ( CDU ), the deputy chairman of the workers' group in the German Bundestag , said, “that citizen work is compulsory for current Hartz IV recipients. Anyone who is not ready to start a job receives a penalty. "

In September 2011 the federal government confirmed upon request that temporary employment agencies would also be commissioned to employ community workers. This was allowed in cases in which there had been a dispute between the parties to the collective bargaining agreement about the applicability of the collective agreement for the public service to the present legal relationships. So far there are no statistics on the extent of employment.

The Federal Administration Office (BVA) commissioned with the implementation of the model project approved a total of 33,169 citizen jobs by July 2, 2012. This corresponds to a share of around 98 percent of the total possible positions.

The program last included 27,000 unemployed. It expired in 2014 and was replaced by a program aimed at getting 33,000 long-term unemployed without a vocational qualification into employment subject to social security contributions.

rating

The original concept of civic work was criticized primarily because of its resigned tendencies : On the one hand, the ethos of the work society is adhered to, in that gainful employment is viewed as the norm and civil work as the exception for those who are excluded from gainful employment . On the other hand, the introduction of citizen work and citizen money would lead to an undesirable bureaucratization of the voluntary sector. Ulrich Beck countered that the concept was precisely about breaking away from the traditional models. In his view, paid work is not replaced by unpaid work, but rather “work” . Citizens' benefits should not be paid “naked” , “but rather be linked to offers of the inclusive society for active participation” .

The currently discussed concepts of citizen work as a workfare program are often viewed critically. The conservative side also sees the danger that regular jobs in the public service could be displaced as a result. Experience has shown that in Saxony-Anhalt only a tenth of those affected subsequently found a regular job. There is a risk that several million euros in taxpayers' money will be "squandered" . The Greens also suspect that the now envisaged citizen work is only aimed at creating a new reason for sanctioning Hartz IV recipients in order to force those affected out of the benefit. The Left Party described the proposed program as blackmailing the unemployed for the same reason. The DGB pointed out that the announced income from civil work will in many cases not be sufficient to secure a living, so that additional benefits would have to be granted. Thilo Sarrazin , on the other hand, describes in his book Germany abolishes concepts such as citizen work and workfare as “a means of integrating the lower class and avoiding false incentives” which, among other things, would “encourage immigration to the welfare state”.

Furthermore, the question arises how civil work is compatible with Art. 12 GG. It says that all Germans have the right to freely choose their profession, workplace and training place and that no one may be forced to work.

The balance of the support programs for citizen work was judged critically after their completion by the political opposition, the German trade union federation and the press. Long-term unemployed continue to have poor chances of finding employment subject to social security contributions.

See also

literature

  • Alban Knecht: Bürgergeld: Fight poverty without social assistance. Negative income tax, combined wages, community work and RMI as new ways. Haupt, Bern / Stuttgart / Vienna 2002, ISBN 3-258-06487-3
  • Commission for future questions of the Free States of Bavaria and Saxony: Employment and unemployment in Germany: development, causes, measures. 1996/1997. Part I (PDF; 728 kB), Part II (PDF; 1.1 MB), Part III (PDF; 756 kB).
  • Ulrich Beck: Capitalism without work . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , 1996, pp. 140-146 ( Online - May 13, 1996 ).

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Commission for Future Issues Bavaria – Saxony ( Memento of the original from September 18, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Bavarian state portal. Retrieved July 9, 2010.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bayern.de
  2. ^ A b Commission for future issues of the Free States of Bavaria and Saxony: Employment and unemployment in Germany: development, causes, measures. Part III: Measures to improve the employment situation. P. 148 f. ( PDF ( Memento of the original from January 31, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this note. , Accessed on July 9, 2010). - Outline bullets implemented in running text. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bayern.de
  3. ↑ Marcel Erlinghagen: The Social Risks "New Volunteering". On the future of voluntary work using the example of “citizen work”. In: From Politics and Contemporary History . (B 25-26 / 2001), pp. 33-38.
  4. ^ Dresden: Citizens' work for the unemployed from April 1st. de.wikinews.org, February 20, 2007.
  5. ↑ a b Citizen work is consistent support and demand. Federal Ministry of Labor. Press release, July 9, 2010.
  6. ↑ Abolish ALG II: CDU politician demands: Hartz IV must go , BZ from August 2, 2011.
  7. ↑ German Bundestag: The Federal Government's answer to the minor question from MPs Sabine Zimmermann, Jutta Krellmann, Diana Golze, other MPs and the DIE LINKE parliamentary group. - Printed matter 17/6756 - Temporary employment in the model project Citizens' Work (PDF; 169 kB), BT printed matter 17/6999, September 16, 2011. Accessed on October 12, 2011.
  8. ↑ Archived copy ( memento of the original dated November 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , Keyword "citizen work" @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bva.bund.de
  9. ↑ a b Stefan von Borstel: "Nahles lets long-term unemployed sit with no alternative" . In: Welt Online . January 18, 2016 ( welt.de [accessed January 22, 2016]).
  10. ↑ Ulrich Beck: Capitalism without work . In: Der Spiegel . No. 20 , 1996, pp. 140-146 ( Online - May 13, 1996 ). Quote: “This model of an active society is not about replacing paid work with unpaid work, as is repeatedly suggested. Such models ultimately remain under the spell of the working society. That is too short: instead of work, there is work (housework, family work, etc.). … “Citizens' Benefit for All” model, tax-financed; One will have to argue about the amount. Many fear that this type of basic security seals the exclusion of those at risk - women, the poor, the disabled - from work and society. It would therefore be important not to pay the citizens' allowance naked, but to combine it with offers from the inclusive society for active participation. "
  11. ↑ a b c Kerstin Schwenn: Costly civil work. In: FAZ.net July 9, 2010.
  12. ↑ Stefan Sauer ,: data analysis of the DGB: Hardly any job opportunities for long-term unemployed. In: www.berliner-zeitung.de. Retrieved January 22, 2016 .