"It's an absurd system, a poison for society" "kleinezeitung.at



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At the Council of Ministers, the government presented Wednesday details on the reform of the minimum wage. Chancellor Kurz said: Long-term employees are not threatened by a minimum income.

22h23, 28th November 2018

PRESS RELEASE TO THE MINISTERIAL COUNCIL: SMALL SHORT CONDUITS / HARTINGER
Short, Strache and Hartinger-Klein © APA / ROLAND HITCH

The government announced Wednesday the details of its microinsurance reform. For families with children and people unfamiliar with German, this can sometimes lead to serious cuts. chancellor Sebastian Kurz (ÖVP) and Vice-Chancellor Heinz-Chrisitan Strache (FPÖ) described the model as fair and equitable and particularly emphasized the work incentives for beneficiaries.

The reactions to the reform of the guaranteed minimum income vary. The praise comes from the Court of Auditors, the critics of Neos and ÖGB. Read more here.

In the Council of Ministers, a "punctation" for the protection of the minimum income was adopted, namely a declaration of political intention. The exact bill will follow during the week and will be reviewed for six weeks. This "framework law" replaces the Bund-Länder agreement on minimum standards for minimum income, which expired in 2016. For individuals, it provides for a maximum amount of 863 euros, for couples a maximum of 1 208 euros. People with poor knowledge of German should receive a third less. In particularly expensive cities, additional benefits in kind are possible, but capped at 30% of the minimum coverage.

The Department of Social Affairs announced Wednesday that beneficiaries of the minimum income protection could keep the deduction for children differently than originally announced. In the documents on the reform of the minimum income, it is stated that the 58.40 euros per child from the autumn of 2019 will be deducted from the minimum guarantee. The Ministry of Social Affairs now calls this an "error in the document".

Unfortunately, yesterday, we made a mistake in the document: the deduction of children's deductions (58.40 per month and per child) as well as the amount of the deduction for single income badistance are not deducted from the calculation. social badistance, "wrote the spokesman of the Ministry of Social Affairs on Wednesday.

"Mbadive immigration into the system"

In short, the model after the Council of Ministers with Strache and the Minister of Social Affairs Beate Hartinger-Klein (FPÖ) and boss of the VP-Club August Wöginger presented, spoke of a much needed reform. Austria already has more minimum income beneficiaries than residents of Burgenland and one in two is a foreigner. "We have mbadive immigration into the minimum income system," Kurz said. Therefore, we now propose a "fairer system" with incentives to work. The "Fleckerlteppich" of the different country regulations is also canceled.

"It is an absurd system, a poison for society," Wednesday evening criticized the Chancellor in the TV program ZIB2. Finally, we have to take care of people who go to work. In summary, an example: according to the old system, a family man with three children, who earns 1600 euros net, after getting all social transfers, would be about 100 euros less per month than a comparable family in which nobody do not work. That will change now, in the future, the first family will receive more, the second less.

Strache already at the presentation of noon: We took from the SPÖ an unfair model, which is now precise, more fair and more equitable. Although he particularly welcomed the five-year waiting period for "EU social tourists", he stressed: "The minimum income must not degenerate into a social hammock" – for no one, not even for the Austrians. "

Cups for families with children

Government plans for families with children are particularly severe (according to Statistics Austria, 81,334 out of 231,390 children had a minimum income in 2017). About 216 euros per month for the first child, 43 euros for the second 130 and 43 euros for the third. In addition, these child benefits will be further reduced. As Hartinger-Klein said, the amount of the child allowance (€ 58 per child per month) should be deducted from the minimum income in the future. Currently, he is paid with family allowances to all families and does not reduce the minimum income.

In short, these large-scale cuts for families with many children explained that often working families did not have much more money available than a minimum-income child with many children. "50% of people earn less than 1,800 euros net," Kurz said. This means that it is no longer interesting for members of large families to work. And Wöginger: "If you work, you must not be stupid."

Less reduction for single parents

These reductions are amortized by single parents: they receive a supplement (103.5 euros for a child, 233 euros for three children), people with disabilities receive 155 euros more. "We take the problem of child poverty seriously," said Strache in this regard. Moreover, the FPÖ has not strengthened its demand for the abolition of badet access to "Aufstocker" in the minimum income. However, the current regulations have been relaxed: access to autonomous residential properties must be made after three years (even after six months). In addition, beneficiaries of a minimum income can keep 5,200 euros in cash (previously 4,300). Strache to: "We are ending the social cooling of the SPÖ."

No minimum income for long-term employees

Federal Chancellor Kurz (ÖVP) and Vice Chancellor Strache (FPÖ) also denied fears that the planned 2019 unemployment benefit reform for the long-term unemployed would automatically lead to the transition to the minimum income. For longtime workers, there will always be some kind of permanent emergency help.

With the reform of autumn 2019, the government plans to transfer emergency badistance to the program "New unemployment allowance". Fearing that the beneficiaries of this emergency aid will automatically slip into minimal security and that this threatens access to badets, Kurz and Strache recalled in the press hall after the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

Asked about the possibility for the permanent unemployed to work for long-term unemployed, Mr Kurz replied: "Of course, whoever has contributed is entitled to insurance benefits." Anyone who has worked for years and lost their job at the age of 40 will remain in the jobless model – and there will also be "no access to property". For short-term workers, however, the government does not automatically want an unlimited extension of emergency badistance: those who work "for a very short time" and have badets for which it can not "be a preservation job for the general public," said the Chancellor.

Negotiations in progress

Concrete information on the conditions of an indefinite stay in emergency badistance could not however be communicated to the government on Wednesday and were mentioned. When asked whether a person who had been working for ten to fifteen years and who was unemployed at the age of 40 could then apply for emergency badistance for an indefinite period, Mr. Strache replied, "It's like that." However, it is important to distinguish between short- and long-term employees.

The Vice Chancellor also stressed that emergency badistance would remain an insurance benefit. "Anyone who has developed this insurance benefit is not covered by the minimum income guarantee, and those who have been working for years remain in this guarantee."

The head of government criticized the SPÖ on this subject. Kurz and Strache spoke of a "mood" that scares large groups of people. It's "dishonest".



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