In the debate about employing Bürgergeld recipients, the German County Council (DLT) signals support for a compulsory work clause. In the Saturday issue of “Bild”, DLT President Achim Brötel directly disputed federal Labour Minister Bärbel Bas’s claim that such a requirement would be “too expensive” and “too bureaucratic”.
Brötel explained that work opportunities are a long‑established tool. “Counties and cities can already use them for asylum seekers” he said, noting that in Thuringia many districts employ the instrument successfully. “These activities noticeably improve employability, give structure to daily life, and can even pave the way into the mainstream job market. That is sensible and necessary”.
He added that there must be broader mechanisms to both promote and enforce employment. Concerning Bürgergeld, Brötel warned that if the transition to the regular labor market fails, local work opportunities need to become more widely applicable. “The current combination of supplementary benefits, public interest, and competition neutrality makes work opportunities within the Bürgergeld system unnecessarily cumbersome” he observed. “It is exactly that step that is now required; this gap must be closed”.