A German politician’s stance on social welfare and labor reform has been made public, sparking debate in the country’s political landscape. Hubertus Heil, the German Federal Labor Minister, has expressed his willingness to reform the country’s citizen’s allowance, a social welfare program, after the next election.
Heil emphasized that the citizen’s allowance is for those who cannot help themselves and that he has always been in favor of mandatory participation, including penalties for those who do not make an effort. However, he countered the opposition’s claims that the program lacks sufficient penalties, saying that one in five recipients of the allowance actually work, but earn too little to make ends meet and cannot be accused of laziness in such a case.
The minister also strongly opposed the opposition’s planned labor reform, which aims to replace the daily maximum working hours with a weekly maximum. Heil argued that the proposed reform would put the health of employees at risk and that while flexibility is important, employees also need a clear end to their working day.