Saarland Minister demands more money for labour market policy

Federal budget proposal – Saarland minister demands more money for labor market policy

Minister of Social Affairs of Saarland Magnus Jung (SPD) He called on the Federal Government to support the current welfare state debate to prevent further division of society. He expressed concern over a number of statements made about Citizen’s Income and Child Benefit, saying they aimed to delegitimise the welfare state.

To gain or regain public legitimacy for the welfare system, Jung believes that much more money is needed for labor market policies. The billion-dollar underfunding in Budget proposal The Federal Government is “completely absurd”. “On the one hand, scolding people in Berlin that they should finally go to work” and on the other hand, providing funds for their qualifications makes no sense,” he said during a summer press conference with journalists. He hopes that during the budget negotiations “the most serious cuts in this area will be reversed.”

The same applies to language courses, for which the budget is proposed to be halved. “Language is an A and an O for integration,” Jung emphasized. You can’t cut funding and then “drag them along” who can’t integrate. The federal states are now putting pressure on the federal government on this issue and have already contacted the Bund. The constant jostling is already causing considerable uncertainty and is very damaging when looking for qualified teachers.

In addition, Jung insisted that the federal government finally introduce the Child Benefit. On the one hand, it is regrettable that the money to lift children out of poverty is fundamentally questioned by the FDP. On the other hand, it is economically irrational, given the future shortage of skilled labor.

All the things that children don’t get, such as developmental, academic and professional problems, are problems that the welfare state will have to carry with it throughout its life. According to the minister, it makes economic sense to simply say: “Here we have to invest in the future of the country.”

Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Women and Health of the Saarland

1. Magnus Jung, SPD Minister of Social Affairs of Saarland, has called on the federal government to support measures to resolve the social divisions in the ongoing debate on the welfare state.
2. Jung expressed concern about the impact of the citizen’s income and child benefit statements, which he believed aimed to weaken the welfare state.
3. To regain the legitimacy of the welfare system, Jung stressed the need to allocate significant budget resources to labor market policies, criticizing the federal government for the billion-dollar underfunding included in its budget proposal.
4. In addition, Jung advocated for the federal government to introduce a child benefit, expressing regret over the issue of resources for children to emerge from poverty under the FDP, as well as the potential shortage of skilled labor in the future.
5. The Minister of Labour, Social Affairs, Women and Health of Saarland also stressed the importance of funding language courses, stating that language is crucial for integration and reducing uncertainty among qualified teachers resulting from constant budget renegotiations.
6. The government’s draft budget includes halving funding for language courses, which Jung said would harm integration efforts and could potentially lead to long-term problems in addressing children’s developmental, academic and vocational training issues.

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