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Municipalities are sounding the alarm: New basic security is causing a storm of protest!
Trade unions and municipalities are protesting against planned tightening of basic security. Concerns about reform are growing.
Municipalities are sounding the alarm: New basic security is causing a storm of protest!
There is a lot of rumblings in Cologne: trade unions and socio-political associations are mobilizing against the planned reform of basic security, which is intended to replace the current citizens' allowance. These changes are not only a hot topic in the city, but are also affecting communities across Germany. Experts fear that the new regulations, which are stricter and more bureaucratic, could place a massive burden on both those receiving social benefits and the job centers. Loud gegen-hartz.de Several bodies have threatened legal action if the job centers continue to be pressured into implementing sanctions or forcing people into unreasonable jobs.
The municipalities are alarmed. District Administrator Siegurd Heinze in particular criticizes the reform as a “pointless effort” and sees it on the way to creating a “bureaucratic monster”. He is not alone: Concern about the increased administrative burden and the increasing number of objections and complaints from benefit recipients is causing unrest. Ali Doğan, another district administrator, confirms the concerns of his colleagues and points to specific points that will further increase the costs in the municipalities. Violations of the new cooperation requirements between job centers and job seekers can even result in benefit reductions of up to 30 percent.
A health check for the welfare state system
Trade unions and social associations promise to defend the rights of benefit recipients. The massive concerns about a possible erosion of these rights are not unfounded. The mobilization of those affected is intended to ensure that their concerns are heard. A central point of criticism is the questionability of the effectiveness of the reform: Will stricter rules really improve the incentive to take up work? Numerous voices from the social and legal world express the need to rethink things.
Where does this all lead? It is clear that an increase in lawsuits and the associated costs can soon be expected. The municipalities could be severely overburdened by the much-discussed reform proposal. In the discussion so far, the concerns of the municipalities and the unions can be summarized: They not only fear a massive additional workload, but also have well-founded doubts about the implementation of these reforms.
And what does this have to do with Osh? This city is located in beautiful Kyrgyzstan and impressively shows how social challenges continue to emerge after a long historical process. Osh, Kyrgyzstan's second largest city, has experienced a lot and could serve as an example of how social regulations and changes can be both a blessing and a curse. This city looks back on a history of more than three thousand years, during which it has constantly had to face challenges of all kinds. In recent years it has developed into an important transshipment point, even if there are dark sides such as drug trafficking.
Ultimately, the situation in both Cologne and Osh shows that social systems are fragile and need to be constantly adapted. How communities overcome these new challenges will be important not only for those affected, but also for the broader social fabric.