Burgenland: July Brings Mandatory Community Service for Asylum Seekers

The mandatory community service for asylum seekers, decided in Burgenland last December, will be implemented on July 1. They are to take on tasks in the municipalities, in the state, or in the state holding. Those who refuse twice without a valid reason will lose basic services, announced State Councillor Daniela Winkler (SPÖ) at a press conference on Wednesday.

"Anyone who permanently receives benefits from the public sector must also bear the responsibility and give something back to society," emphasized Winkler. Care obligations, health restrictions, and personal burdens will of course be taken into account: "One must always examine on a case-by-case basis what is reasonable." If someone refuses twice, even though the activity would be reasonable from the state's perspective, the person concerned should more or less fall out of basic care and only receive the most necessary support.

Instead of an apartment, only a sleeping place will be provided, explained the State Councillor. Care, food allowance, and health insurance will be eliminated, but food and basic medical care will continue. This is due to the legal situation, said SPÖ club chairman Roland Fürst.

Parks, Nursing Homes, Libraries

The asylum seekers are to be employed in landscape maintenance and winter services, in the care of sports facilities, parks, or playgrounds, for cleaning and messenger services, at cultural or sporting events, in nursing and care homes, libraries, or municipal facilities. They receive a recognition contribution of 1.60 euros per hour. For persons without care obligations, community service activities of up to 30 hours per week are planned, for those with care obligations it is a maximum of 20 hours per week. Currently, around 130 people of working age in Burgenland are likely to fall under the regulation. A realistic deployment potential of around 24 full-time equivalents has been identified in municipalities.

The new model is intended to bring advantages on both sides. Municipalities and the state will be relieved of everyday tasks and for the asylum seekers, it is an opportunity to find "support and meaning in a phase of uncertainty" in a structured daily routine, argued Winkler. At the same time, they should engage in conversations with residents, which in turn helps with learning German, breaks down barriers, and ultimately contributes to integration, said the State Councillor.

Burgenland Sticks to Limit

Burgenland continues to adhere to the upper limit of 330 people per year in basic care, emphasized Fürst. This is how the state responds to the strain of recent years. After all, around 90 percent of the refugees who come to Austria enter via Burgenland.

The Ministry of the Interior pointed out on Wednesday that the obligation for community service for asylum seekers in federal care has existed since July 2024. More than 350,000 hours of community service have been performed since then, which helps federal institutions and also municipalities save money, it was said in a statement. A similar model is being developed in Carinthia.

(APA/Red)

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