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Minister of Labour Heil

Photo: CLEMENS BILAN / EPA

After a wave of criticism, Federal Labour Minister Hubertus Heil (SPD) wants to overturn his austerity plans to care for hundreds of thousands of young unemployed. This is reported by the dpa news agency, citing government circles.

In order to save 900 million euros for the federal budget, unemployed people under the age of 25 should no longer be looked after by the job centres, but by the employment agencies. The costs would then no longer be incurred by the federal government, but by unemployment insurance.

But the plans were not well received by the job centres, the Green coalition partner and the Federal Court of Auditors. They warned of worse care for the approximately 700,000 people affected.

Now the under-25s will also continue to be looked after by the job centres. Instead, another responsibility is to shift from the job centers to the employment agencies, it said. The savings amount in the federal social budget is to remain the same.

The new plan envisages that in the future, the employment agencies will be responsible if citizen benefit recipients, regardless of age, receive further training. The agencies are also to be responsible for vocational rehabilitation. Heil submitted the new proposal on Thursday to the traffic light politicians, who are now examining it.

Opposition to Salvation's plans had been fierce. The Green social politician Frank Bsirske had accused him in the Bundestag Minister of Labor to tear "a gap in the social and care network".

Salvation's ministry argues that the savings of a total of 1.5 billion euros to be made by his ministry are "a very painful cut". Of this, 900 million are to be saved in the citizen's money area, the Social Security Code II. However, benefit cuts would not be considered. In addition, the job centers would also have to be relieved in the event of savings.

This is now to be done by the job centres referring those affected to the Employment Agency in the future if they see a need for further training. In the future, professional reintegration back into work will also be organised there. According to government sources, around 45,000 people per year are affected.

The change in the austerity plans is seen by the Ministry of Labour as "a piece of learning policy". This is "sometimes exhausting", but it is about success for those affected. The new plan is to be launched via an amendment to the Budget Financing Act.

ssu/dpa