After extreme cases

Social welfare: Ludwig raises eyebrows with demand

Social assistance: Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) wants a nationwide solution and processing via the AMS.

(Bild: Georg Hochmuth)

Michael Ludwig (SPÖ) is now also pushing for a nationwide regulation of social welfare. The Mayor of Vienna suggested that this should be handled by the AMS for the able-bodied population - "from 15 to 65, for example".

4600 euros in social assistance for a family of nine from Syria, even 5000 for a family of ten. These recently publicized cases from Vienna sparked a heated discussion. 

The ÖVP and FPÖ in particular had criticized the high benefits, arguing that less was paid out in other federal states.

In line with ÖVP provincial governors
After the two provincial governors Markus Wallner (Vorarlberg) and Christopher Drexler (Styria) had already spoken out in favor of uniform social assistance, Ludwig is now also taking the same line. 

For all those who are not in employment, an offensive is needed throughout Austria to bring them into the labor market and, in view of the shortage of skilled workers, to qualify them accordingly. This will not succeed if the AMS budget is cut - as planned by the federal government - but only if the necessary funds are significantly increased.

Wiens Bürgermeister Michael Ludiwg (SPÖ)

Ludwig: AMS must be strengthened financially and in terms of personnel
On Tuesday's Ö1 "Mittagsjournal", the Mayor of Vienna called for the AMS to be strengthened financially and in terms of personnel and to be put in a position to support a nationwide solution. The minimum income should "move away from the federal states", said Ludwig: "The same framework conditions are needed everywhere."

Ludwig calls on the federal government to pursue an "active labor market policy" instead of debating the level of minimum income. "For all those who are not in employment, an offensive is needed throughout Austria to bring them into the labor market and to qualify them accordingly in view of the shortage of skilled workers. This will not succeed if the AMS budget is cut - as planned by the federal government - but only if the necessary funds are significantly increased."

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Ludwig wants basic child protection
"It would also make sense to provide for a basic child protection scheme," adds Ludwig. These measures would have to be combined with a two-year integration program, also linked to a residency requirement.

According to Ludwig, this would make it possible to integrate adult minimum income recipients into the labor market better than before and protect children at the same time. Ludwig also intends to present his proposal at the next provincial governors' conference, he said on Tuesday.

ÖVP cannot do anything with the proposal
ÖVP parliamentary group chairman August Wöginger cannot do anything with Ludwig's proposal. Vienna is shifting the responsibility onto a federal institution, he said, citing the proposal for a "cold financial equalization". Like Lower Austria and Upper Austria, Vienna should implement the basic social welfare law, he appealed. Nationwide, the ÖVP wants a five-year waiting period before receiving full social assistance. Ludwig's statements were a sign that the "deluxe social assistance" in Vienna had completely failed, said Wöginger. The capital was currently a magnet for all those entitled to asylum.

FPÖ: "Child abandonment"
Vienna's FPÖ leader Dominik Nepp accused Ludwig of "child abandonment". "If Vienna adhered to the applicable laws and did not throw the minimum benefits at every immigrant and person entitled to subsidiary protection, the misery that Vienna is now in would not exist," he said. A regulation is needed so that this social benefit is "only reserved for Austrian citizens."

NEOS support Ludwig's proposal
Support for Ludwig came from the NEOS. According to social affairs spokesperson Gerald Loacker, a proposal by the Court of Auditors could be implemented with a uniform nationwide social assistance scheme handled by the AMS. "Many recipients of unemployment benefit supplement their income with social assistance because their unemployment benefit is lower. The ACA has therefore been calling for social assistance and unemployment assistance to be merged into a single social security benefit since 2016," he explained. If implemented, those affected would only have one point of contact, which would also offer the opportunity to simplify administration and save costs.