Social Welfare Reform: NGOs Want a Seat at the Table

"We are the experts from practice and know the problems and challenges of those affected very well," emphasized Volkshilfe Managing Director Erich Fenninger on Tuesday. Caritas also reaffirmed its willingness to participate in the reform process, as did Amnesty Austria.

"We are ready"

"If a comprehensive reform of social welfare is to be implemented, then it must happen with the involvement of social organizations," said a statement from Volkshilfe. Caritas President Nora Tödtling-Musenbichler expressed a similar sentiment the day before: "We are ready to bring our many years of experience from working with families affected by poverty, single parents, job seekers, and refugees into the reform process."

On Monday, the federal government announced that it intends to start negotiations with the federal states on its long-announced plans next week. Key points, as already announced in the government program, include nationwide standardization, an integration phase focused on immigrants with reduced benefits and obligations for language acquisition and value courses. A focus should also be directed towards children - with measures to combat child poverty and improve "equal opportunities." Of course, the government also aims for a standardization of social welfare amounts for children, with a tiered system based on the number of children being considered - such a regulation was overturned by the Constitutional Court in 2019.

Demand for announced "child basic security"

Relief organizations expressed concern about possible cuts, especially for children. Volkshilfe Director Fenninger is particularly troubled by the integration minister Claudia Plakolm's (ÖVP) announced crediting of family allowance against social assistance: This will "lead to an increase in child poverty."

Fenninger demanded the vaguely announced "child basic security" in the government program: "Children should be removed from social assistance, the only logical conclusion can therefore only be: first an effective child basic security, then the social assistance reform." A reform of social assistance that exacerbates poverty and especially child poverty would have "fatal, social but also fiscal consequences." According to the OECD, child poverty would cost Austria 17.2 billion euros annually.

"No reform of social assistance will be able to balance the state budget"

Caritas President Tödtling-Musenbichler rejected claims that social assistance would represent a significant burden on the state budget: "The 'billions' associated with social assistance by Federal Minister Plakolm actually mean 1.1 billion euros - that is only 0.44 percent of total state expenditures. No reform of social assistance will be able to balance the state budget." The image of a strong increase in social assistance claims does not match reality either. "The number of social assistance recipients has decreased in recent years and is only now slightly increasing due to current crises - and is still significantly below the level of 2017."

Amnesty International also warned against cuts: "After yesterday's press conference on the key points of the social assistance reform, it is clear that the government wants to further undermine social assistance," Amnesty said in a statement. The plans to grant only a so-called "integration allowance" instead of full access to social assistance during the "integration phase," which is supposed to be lower than social assistance, is viewed critically by the NGO. This would mean "people would have even less to live on in the end."

(APA/Red)

This article has been automatically translated, read the original article here.