Berlin (dts) - The general manager of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband, Ulrich Schneider, considers the CDU's plans for sanctions on citizens' benefits to be unconstitutional. “What the CDU is proposing is simply unconstitutional. That’s why it will never happen,” Schneider told the “Frankfurter Rundschau” (Saturday edition). “This is a huge campaign number.”
The Federal Constitutional Court has made clear regulations. “You cannot deprive people of their entire benefits without looking at the individual case to see whether it is really an intentional refusal or whether other circumstances, such as health reasons, are responsible,” says Schneider.
He advocated extending disability pensions to numerous people who currently receive citizen's benefit. “Anyone who can work more than three hours a day is considered fit for work. The fact is that these often involve people who are physically or mentally ill. No employer wants to hire people who can only work three hours a day or who constantly have to call in sick,” said the general manager of the Paritätisches. “It would really be better to extend disability benefits to these cases.”
Schneider assumes that there will be no basic child security that deserves the name. “There will be no basic child protection, regardless of the outcome of the current discussion. The fact is: the whole thing is a label fraud,” said Schneider. “It’s no longer about making more resources available to poor children. It's just a matter of combining existing services. This is purely an administrative reform that is being planned – it doesn’t deserve the name basic child security.”
