Job centres in Germany have been flooded by applications for welfare payments following a Constitutional Court ruling that could pave the way for Hartz IV benefits to be raised, daily <i>Bild</i> reported Tuesday.
Vice Chancellor Guido Westerwelle stepped up his attacks on the welfare system Sunday, calling for a complete overhaul and warning that workers were fast becoming “the nation’s suckers.”
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle refused to back down on Friday after being assailed from all quarters for slamming the “socialist leanings” of a national debate on welfare.
Germany’s highest court has ruled Hartz IV welfare payments unconstitutional because children only receive a percentage of adult benefits. But <b>Tissy Bruns</b> from Der Tagesspiegel doubts the decision will end up helping poorer kids.
Senior government figures defended the maligned Hartz IV welfare system on Wednesday as political fallout continued following the German high court's ruling that the programme is unconstitutional.
Millions of German families on welfare could receive more government assistance after the nation’s highest court ruled Tuesday the controversial Hartz IV system of payments was unconstitutional.
Most of Germany’s unemployed parents receiving Hartz IV welfare support will be obligated to return an extra €20 in child benefit mistakenly paid out this month.
A fake pipe bomb was mailed to the office of Roland Koch, the conservative premier of Hesse. The group taking responsibility for the threat said they were protesting remarks Koch made about tightening welfare rules.
The fifth anniversary of the introduction of the social welfare reforms known as Hartz IV is no cause for celebration, Left party vice-chairman Klaus Ernst said Saturday. The Federal Labour Agency also admitted there was room for improvement.
Official figures released on Tuesday showed nearly 15 percent of Germans were languishing near the poverty line in 2008, as a separate study said the country's long-term unemployed had a poor chance of having a normal work life.
Nearly every tenth German was on the dole in 2007, the Federal Statistics Office (Destatis) reported on Monday. In some big cities like Berlin the number on welfare was almost double that figure.
German Family Minister Ursula von der Leyen has proposed expanding a monthly child subsidy for low income parents, daily <i>Passauer Neue Presse</i> reported on Friday.
A new survey comparing social equality in the European Union has ranked German society near the bottom due to poor educational and job opportunities, as well as widespread gender and generational disparity.
Many animal lovers are opting to give their pets away to animal shelters in an attempt to cut costs during the recession, Cologne daily <i>Express</i> reported on Friday, adding that some of the animals may be euthanised.
Göttingen’s social welfare bureau has reduced a man’s welfare benefits due to meagre profit from sales of the German street magazine <i>Tagessatz</i>, the <i>Göttinger Tageblatt</i> reported on Wednesday.
Families hoping to cash in on the German government’s stimulus package payment of €100 per child will reportedly have to wait until April due to bureaucratic delays.
German grandparents will now be able to apply for leave from work to care for their newborn grandchildren, according to a new law ratified by parliament late on Thursday evening.
German Hartz-IV welfare benefits are too high, according to a controversial new study released this week. People supposedly only need €132 ($191) per month to ensure survival – and that means no smoking, drinking, or fun.
The parliamentary state secretary for the Economy Ministry, Hartmut Schauerte, has said he sees no real poverty in Germany, and there is no need to increase spending for social benefits.
Despite Germany’s prosperous image, the country faces a widening income gap and growing outrage over “breadline wages” for the working poor, reports AFP’s Arnaud Bouvier.
