Danish government wants foreigners to work to access social assistance – Boston News, Weather, Sports



[ad_1]

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) – The Danish government on Tuesday presented a proposal to get foreigners and people with an immigrant background to work 37 hours a week in return for social benefits.

The Social Democratic minority government’s proposal said that “there are still too many people, especially of non-Western origin, who have no work to do” in the morning.

“If you come to Denmark, you have to work and support yourself and your family,” he says.

No date has yet been set for the 179-seat parliament to vote on the proposal. Although the Social Democrats do not have a majority, they would likely win the support of center-right lawmakers to pass it.

Mai Villadsen, a member of the opposition Red-Green Alliance, called the idea “stupid”. She argued that this could lead to “social dumping”, which is downward pressure on the wages of other members of the workforce.

“The foundation of our wellness society is a strong safety net,” Villadsen wrote on Twitter.

Many women of foreign origin remain out of the workforce, especially women with roots in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Turkey, the proposal says.

The government wants “effort and performance to go hand in hand” with social benefits, and “if you cannot meet your needs, you have to have the duty to participate and contribute what is equivalent to a week. regular work to receive full social benefits, ”said the 40-page government report, titled“ Denmark can do more ”.

As of July 1, immigrants and their descendants made up 14.1% of the Danish population of nearly 6 million people, according to official figures. The most important groups come from Turkey, Syria and Iraq.

(Copyright (c) 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

Sign up for our newsletter for the latest news straight to your inbox

[ad_2]

Source link