AMS boss Johannes Kopf supports reform of the social welfare system. His ideas: stipends could be given separately to women and men, child welfare could be separated and half the Social Security amount paid four times a year as an allowance for extraordinary expenses.
In Vienna, the case of a family of nine from Syria, which is required to receive a minimum income of 4,600 euros per month (including rent allowance), has caused a stir. The level of social welfare provided in Vienna was again criticized by the FPÖ and ÖVP. However, City Councilor for Social Affairs Peter Hacker (SPÖ) does not want to stop this criticism at the city government, but instead criticizes the employment service. This is to get people employed and thereby bring them out of unemployment, he said. But, he told “Kronen Zeitung”: “It won’t work. And I’m tired of hearing the shouts from there. If Mr. Super-Boss finally has to deal with the problems, AMS has more than enough.” This was replicated by AMS team member Johannes Kopp on the ORF program “ZiB2” on Thursday evening.
You have to differentiate on the topic, Kopf responded to the criticism: “You have to weigh job incentives, an important topic, fighting child poverty, an important topic, and public opinion on the topic.” For families with many children, “if you take the fight against child poverty seriously, it’s clear that you have to give so much money because the less skilled can’t earn elsewhere.” As a result, victims certainly have a “perverse incentive” to work.
“Easily Populist Politics”
To increase incentives to work, “you really need to change the system” and remove child benefits from social assistance or minimum income and replace them with something else, according to the AMS board. “Anyone who’s had kids knows that you have to constantly spend something on school trips.” This should be discussed, Cobb thought, but at the same time he regretted that the debate had flared up using the example of a family of nine. After all, it was “twice as much as a normal Austrian family”. In this sense, he feels, “It’s a bit populist to politicize it.”
The AMS boss suggested another thought: Austria is not supposed to have 14 salaries, but social benefits are paid only twelve times a year. If social assistance is paid 14 times, a Syrian family will receive only 3,900 euros per month. “It’s a lot, but it’s going to be different,” Goff said. He therefore recommends that the semi-social grant be paid four times a year as an allowance for extraordinary expenses, such as clothing or starting school – this way the aid would be comparable to the net salary of the jobs.
Additionally, it would be prudent to pay separately for men and women. It will be important for equality. (bright)