Migration: Municipal association rejects compulsory work for refugees

The German Association of Cities and Municipalities rejects a requirement to work for asylum seekers. “In order to place more asylum seekers into work, compulsory work is neither necessary nor effective,” said managing director André Berghegger to the newspapers of the Funke media group. However, he called for an adjustment to the current rules.

Migrants are currently not allowed to work while they are in the asylum process. “If there is a warning that too few refugees are working, the first logical step must be to bring the asylum process to an accelerated conclusion. It can also be an opportunity to open up employment opportunities during the ongoing asylum process if the preliminary examination is a right to Asylum can be expected,” suggested Berghegger.

Compulsory work required for asylum seekers

In contrast, the President of the German District Council, Reinhard Sager, had already called for asylum seekers to be required to work in the autumn. A debate was currently sparked by the Saale-Orla district in eastern Thuringia’s plan to require asylum seekers to work four hours a day. They are supposed to do simple work for 80 cents per hour.

The new district administrator there, Christian Herrgott, is calling for legal changes to expand job requirements for refugees. “The Asylum Seekers Benefits Act needs to be changed so that asylum seekers in individual accommodation can also be required to do community service,” said Herrgott to the editorial network Germany (RND/Freitag). He expects the federal government to consistently follow the law.