In Germany, every fourth refugee decided to either return home to Ukraine or start working.
This information was reported by Bild, URA-Inform reports.
The whole point is that Germany recently introduced a system of social payment cards. For the first time, such cards were introduced for refugees in the Eichsfeld region in Thuringia on December 1, 2023. They were introduced by Werner Henning from the Christian Democratic Union, who at that time headed the local administration.
In an interview with Bild, he spoke about the successes achieved thanks to this system of non-cash social payments. In four months, out of 400 migrants who were issued cards, 56 people returned home to their homeland, and 43 planned to go to work soon.
«This is a great success. We made it clear that in order to stay permanently in Germany it is necessary to enter the world of work. The charge card created important incentives for refugees to take more responsibility for their lives. I'm glad I took this risk», — said Werner Henning.
He noted that the introduction of the cards has simplified dialogue on the challenges that arise in the context of the misuse of social benefits in Germany.
«For the first time, leaving the country was seen as a completely legitimate alternative to not wanting to work. Practical implementation at the grassroots level provided answers to questions that were unlikely to be found in any other way due to political attitudes», — noted a member of the Christian Democratic Union.
The head of the district administration is convinced that only those refugees who are not working should receive social payment cards.
«I feel that thanks to this approach we are making good progress in integrating refugees through work» , — he added.
In April this year, the Bundestag approved a new policy that calls for the creation of a national social card system for banking transactions intended for refugees. Now, instead of receiving cash from the government, refugees will receive funds on these cards. Goal — exclude the transfer of money to family abroad or to smugglers.
It is worth noting that Germany ranks first in the European Union in the number of Ukrainian refugees — At last count, 1.65 million Ukrainians have already received temporary protection. At the same time, the employment rate is much lower than in neighboring countries. Currently, a quarter of able-bodied refugees work in Germany.
Experts noted that initially there was an approach to prioritize language learning. Therefore, the results for the labor market will become noticeable later, since refugees are often unable to enroll in courses immediately. The Job-Turbo initiative, which the government announced in October 2023, means that people will now be hired with German language skills at level A2 or B1. Language courses can be taken in parallel with employment.
We remind you that it was previously reported whether Ukrainians will be served with summonses abroad: explanation of the people's deputy.
