Press Statement “Basic Income Support Puts Pressure on Working Conditions”

Hans-Jürgen Urban: “The new basic income support is a disastrous step backward in terms of social and labor market policy. The increased pressure within the basic income support system is aimed at a vanishingly small group of so-called ‘total refusers,’ but it affects everyone. Millions of people and their families are placed under general suspicion without being given realistic opportunities for training and work that provides a living wage.

Rigid sanction practices and further tightening of the rules on exempt assets also affect workers who became unemployed through no fault of their own and cannot find a new job immediately. Lower social standards also indirectly put pressure on existing working conditions and wages. This is a worrying signal in times of economic upheaval.”