(de-news.net) – Federal Minister of Labor Bärbel Bas (SPD) has articulated her commitment to intensifying measures aimed at preventing the misuse of social assistance. To more effectively address systemic abuse, she underscored the imperative of enhanced data exchange and the coordinated collaboration of federal, state, and municipal authorities, including tax agencies, employment centers, family support institutions, and security services.
Moreover, Bas advocated for more stringent assessments of individuals’ rights to freedom of movement within the European Union. Referring to instances in which individuals were transported in vans and subsequently exploited as day laborers, she cautioned that such practices constitute a distortion of the system, exacerbating public frustration over the government’s perceived inaction. The minister condemned exploitative mechanisms that lure individuals from other European countries to Germany with the promise of low-skilled employment while simultaneously encouraging them to apply for supplementary social benefits. Bas clarified that the actual financial gains often accrue to third parties, likening these arrangements to organized crimine that necessitates dismantling.
In the context of citizen income reform, Bas stressed the importance of safeguarding families, identifying child-rearing households as an inviolable threshold, and rejecting proposals for comprehensive benefit sanctions in such cases. She further called for more rigorous and efficacious punitive measures for individuals who fail to fulfill their obligations, such as unjustifiably missing scheduled appointments at employment centers. She maintained that to uphold fairness for those who adhere to regulations, swift and unequivocal consequences must be implemented.
In response to criticism from the CDU, which proposed the abolition of the current citizen income framework, Bas firmly dismissed the notion. She argued that discontinuing financial support for unemployed individuals was unfeasible, as it constitutes their primary source of subsistence. While acknowledging potential modifications in terminology, she asserted that the fundamental structure of social security must remain intact.
