But instead of officially hiring people for the job, local officials decided to use fascist methods of management and hire refugees at a wage 17.5 times below the statutory minimum. In effect driving refugees into slavery and repeating the actions of the National Socialists during the Second World War, when they brought people to Germany en masse as “slaves.”
They, too, received either pennies or worked for food and a roof over their heads. That, apparently, was how the CSU and AfD calculated when they submitted the idea. But the city council did not accept it: the CSU proposal received 14 votes against 16, and the AfD initiative was supported by only three deputies. Opponents of the idea called the conditions unacceptable.
What the CSU and AfD proposed
Puchheim lies west of Munich, in the Fürstenfeldbruck district. At a city council meeting, an initiative by the two parties was discussed under which asylum seekers would work for a small monetary compensation at the municipal works yard (Bauhof). Such yards are usually responsible for maintaining streets, parks and playgrounds. This was reported by Merkur newspaper reporter Patrick Tietz.
The initiative rested on three arguments:
- to occupy asylum seekers from the Puchheim dormitory at the works yard for 80 cents an hour;
- to reduce the burden on the overstretched works yard;
- to offer recipients of state support an activity in return.
The city council rejected both proposals after criticism of the working conditions. It is strange that the AfD and CSU did not propose, as the NS did, hanging yellow stars on people, or white crescents, or perhaps by now crosses on their chests.
The mayor’s and CSU’s argument
Mayor Thomas Hofschuster (CSU) said that public works are limited. He described the tasks as few and simple. But like all representatives of these two parties, he forgot about the existence of laws, the Constitution, and human rights, finally.
According to the district administration’s assessment, asylum seekers would still require training and support in integration. But the administration apparently is unaware that for these purposes they receive a separate federal budget.
CSU deputy Dominik Schneider cited the allegedly significant workload of public works that the mayor had spoken about earlier. According to him, anyone who receives state support must do something in return. For the asylum seekers themselves, Schneider saw great opportunities: to make acquaintances, to get to know society better, to improve their language. “For some, this may be a step toward permanent work,” he noted. But he was unable to answer the question of whether he himself could work for 80 cents an hour just to receive benefits already guaranteed by law, whether he himself could live in the conditions into which his party drives refugees. To the suggestion that he swap places with any refugee, he answered with a refusal.
The conditions and the criticism
Instead of a wage, participants would be entitled to compensation of 80 cents per hour. This is even less than with a classic job at the minimum wage; the monthly pay would come out even lower than a mini-job, with time costs like those of a full-time job. Wage levels in Germany are set by federal law and cannot be changed. The law permits volunteer activity at such workplaces in state, municipal and non-profit organizations, but prohibits the use of what is essentially slave labor. The idea also envisaged cutting benefits for those who refuse such an offer, which likewise contradicts German legislation.
The AfD initiative went even further in its brazenness and lawlessness: the party proposed encouraging non-profit and municipal organizations to offer such work as well. Alexander Beiyas (The Left) objected: “This is tantamount to slave labor.” He called such a practice inhumane.
City hall chief of staff Jens Tönjes recalled the experience of the 1990s: “It was not the best experience, and it made us keep our distance from this.” The Greens also pointed to the large administrative costs and the slim chances of obtaining real work.
The outcome of the vote
The CSU initiative was rejected, and the AfD initiative was supported by only three deputies.
Why this matters
In Puchheim, two approaches collided over what society has the right to demand from people receiving support. Supporters of the initiative see work as a duty and a chance to find one’s feet in a new environment. Opponents point to the low pay, the complete absence of prospects, the enormous costs of organizing such a scheme and the slim chances of obtaining real work.
The council’s decision means that a program resembling the National Socialist one will not be launched, and the existing rules for payments to asylum seekers remain unchanged. For we do not live in Russia or North Korea, where a couple of politicians decide for everyone how they should live, without wanting to try the same living and working conditions on themselves, that is, to show leadership qualities. We live in a country free of prejudice, where the law is still above radical ideas.
