Essen’s Plan to Revamp Uncontroversial Citizen’s Allowance
The city of Essen is set to abolish the controversial citizen’s allowance, instead opting for a classic unemployment benefit system. According to a concept presented to the North Rhine-Westphalia Labor Ministry and the German City Association, the new plan would introduce a work obligation and an annual health check for benefit recipients.
“Unless benefit recipients can or want to take on a social insurance-liable job in the regular labor market, they must, for the common good, do something” the concept is quoted as saying by the Bild newspaper.
The citizen’s allowance is seen as a “false attitude of unconditional income.” It makes it “too easy for many people to decide to be content with a monthly basic security payment” the concept further states.
Essen’s city spokesperson, Silke Lenz, told the Bild that “work and employment must be put back in the spotlight. In other words, whoever receives a benefit and can work three hours a day should be obligated to accept a community-based job assignment assigned by the job center.”
To determine who is capable of working, the concept proposes that all benefit recipients under the age of 65 will undergo an annual check on their employability by the public health service.