(de-news.net) – Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas (SPD) has underlined the need of enforcing attendance requirements at employment offices and issued a warning that those who take advantage of the system will suffer the consequences. She also emphasized the significance of preserving a strong welfare state that people can depend on for the rest of their lives. Bas declared his intention to quickly present a set of policies designed to reduce benefit fraud. According to media sources, Bas underlined the significance of strong enforcement tools to safeguard the welfare system’s integrity and shield individuals who are truly in need from harm to their reputation. She said that after careful consultation with the Federal Chancellor, further specific recommendations would be made in autumn.
The improvement of data interchange between federal, state, and local authorities is at the heart of the proposed reforms. In order to effectively prevent organized benefit misuse, Bas reportedly emphasized the necessity of enhanced collaboration between immigration offices, job centers, and enforcement agencies, especially customs agents. According to reports, the Federal Employment Agency is getting ready to launch a special “Competence Centre for Benefit Abuse” to aid in these initiatives.
Simultaneously, CDU Secretary General Carsten Linnemann has demanded that EU labor mobility laws be revised. He maintained that in order to prevent criminal networks from taking advantage of Germany’s social protection systems, they must be strengthened. According to reports, Linnemann pushed for a European reinterpretation of the term “worker,” arguing that people who are capable of full-time job should no longer be allowed to combine welfare top-ups with modest employment. He suggested that full-time employment should be the normative standard, especially for unmarried persons without dependents, and recognized this regulatory gap as a structural vulnerability.
Employers who intentionally hire undocumented workers should face harsher punishments, according to further comments by Linnemann, who also contended that they should be held entirely responsible for any benefits that those workers may fraudulently claim. Linnemann reaffirmed his need for regulatory reforms at the EU level in response to the growing number of international recipients of basic income assistance in Germany. He insisted that people who are able to work full-time should not be given the option of partial employment together with benefit supplements.
