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When German Chancellor Friedrich Merzdoli took to the Bundestag floor recently to present what he called one of the government's next top priorities: the reform of "Bürgergeld" (citizens' benefits).
He also highlighted a well-known phrase about work that conservatives often use: Work should be well paid. Merz wants to ensure that German citizens are convinced again that work is worthwhile and should be well paid.
"Bürgergeld" was approved by the previous government and has since been frequently criticized by the CDU/CSU. In 2024, around 826,000 employees were dependent on social benefits or "Bürgergeld".
That's about 30,000 more employees than in 2023 - the first time the number of employees receiving additional assistance has increased since 2015, when more than a million refugees from Syria entered the country.
This was, perhaps not coincidentally, also the year that Germany introduced its first basic minimum wage. Even then, more than a million workers were dependent on state benefits. These additional benefits cost the state almost seven billion euros in 2024, significantly more than the 5.7 billion the state paid for these purposes in 2022.
The government published the data at the request of Left Party MP Cem Ince, who told DW: "It is unacceptable that hundreds of thousands of people are dependent on benefits, despite being employed. This means that we are supporting low wages with tax money."
Minimum wage increase
Ince says the minimum wage in Germany is simply too low. Even though the previous government increased the minimum wage to 12.82 euros, it is not enough.
Last week, the State Commission for Determining the Minimum Wage, which consists of representatives of employers' associations and unions, announced that the minimum wage will increase in two stages: to 13.90 euros on January 1, 2026, and then to 14.60 euros a year later. The SPD had been demanding an increase to 15 euros, but it was rejected.
Helena Steinhaus, founder of the campaign group "Sanktionsfrei" (Sanctions Free), which supports people on benefits, says these small increases in the minimum wage are not enough, given the prices and rents in recent years. For example, the average rent for an apartment in Germany rose by 4.7 percent last year, while in Berlin it rose by an average of 8.5 percent.
The problem of short-time work
Megjithatë, disa ekonomistë argumentojnë se niveli i pagës minimale ka pak të bëjë me numrin e të punësuarve që kanë nevojë për ndihma. "Duhet theksuar se shumica e këtyre njerëzve nuk punojnë me kohë të plotë. Shumë prej tyre janë në trajnime ose punojnë me orar të shkurtuar", thotë Holger Schäfer, ekonomist në Institutin Gjerman për Kërkime Ekonomike në Këln (IW).
"Pagesa minimale për një orë punë nuk ndihmon këtu. Arsyeja pse këta njerëz nuk mund të jetojnë me të ardhurat e tyre nuk është tarifa e ulët për orë pune, por numri i ulët i orëve të punës".
Shifrat e konfirmojnë këtë: sipas të dhënave të fundit nga Agjencia Federale e Punësimit, nga 826,000 punëtorë që marrin ndihma, vetëm rreth 81,000 punojnë me orar të plotë.
Edhe ministrja e Punës, Bärbel Bass, paralajmëroi së fundmi për problemin e mashtrimit masiv që lidhet me punën me kohë të shkurtër dhe përfitimet nga shteti. Ndërmjetësit po sjellin punëtorë masivisht nga vendet më të varfra të BE-së, si Rumania dhe Bullgaria, duke i punësuar ata me kohë të pjesshme dhe pagë minimale. Më pas po mbledhin përfitime nga ndihmat e shtetit që paguhen nëse njerëzit nuk mund të mbulojnë minimumin jetik përmes rrogës.
Ky është një mashtrim, sepse qytetarët e BE-së nuk mund të vijnë thjesht në Gjermani dhe të kërkojnë ndihmë sociale, por në këtë rast ata janë të regjistruar si punonjës.
Megjithatë, kjo nuk është justifikim për pagat e ulëta, këmbëngul deputeti i opozitës Ince. "Fakti është: paga minimale aktuale është një pagë varfërie!", thotë ai.
Varfëria në rritje
Sidoqoftë, siç thekson Steinhaus, arsyeja pse shumë njerëz punojnë vetëm me kohë të pjesshme është e thjeshtë: ata kanë fëmijë ose familjarë për të cilët duhet të kujdesen. Instituti IW llogariti vitin e kaluar se 306,000 fëmijë nën moshën tre vjeç në Gjermani nuk kanë vend në çerdhe ose kopsht, edhe pse ata kanë të drejtë ligjore për një të tillë.
Një studim i vitit 2021 nga Instituti për Kërkime në Punësim (IAB) tregoi se sa më shumë fëmijë të kenë punëtorët, aq më shumë ka gjasa që ata të kenë nevojë për ndihmë shtetërore. Ince, një deputet i së majtës, argumenton se investimi më i madh shtetëror në rritjen e numrit të vendeve në kopshte do t'u "mundësonte shumë njerëzve të shpëtojnë nga kurthi i punës me kohë të pjesshme".
Kompanitë dhe fermerët kanë paralajmëruar për problemet që mund të sjellë paga e re minimale, duke thënë se nuk mund t'u paguajnë punëtorëve sezonalë pagën minimale.
Steinhaus nuk i beson këtyre argumenteve. "Shoqatat e punëdhënësve kanë folur për këtë argument për dhjetë vjet, por ai nuk është vërtetuar kurrë si i vërtetë", tha ajo.
"Sigurisht, ka disa kompani që e kanë të vështirë kur rritet paga minimale, por shumë kompani përfitojnë nga fakti që mund të punësojnë njerëz me çmim të ulët.”
The Chancellor and Welfare Reform
Economist Schäfer also believes that the recent increase in the number of citizens needing help to survive is relatively small and that the overall trend has been downward since 2015. The increase last year, he argues, probably has more to do with general economic conditions in the labor market.
Meanwhile, Chancellor Merz is likely to press ahead with his plans to reform the welfare benefits system so that more people can enter the full-time job market.
"Unfortunately, Merz's arguments about work are wrong," says Steinhaus. "When he says, 'work must be paid,' he means reducing welfare benefits. But the living wage does not depend on how much poor workers earn. They should earn more, there is no doubt about that. But simply reducing benefits is counterproductive and creates competition among the poorest."/DW
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