And: a small contribution to the need for trade union organization of the
unemployed ---- Business & Society ---- The list of unforeseen U-turns anddelayed reforms is already alarmingly long after just 100 days of traffic lightgovernment. The general obligation to vaccinate will probably not come aftermonths of waiting. The minimum wage will not be increased until October 2022,almost a year after the coalition was formed. The Greens deliver weapons to warzones and willingly arm the Bundeswehr with money that is otherwise lackingeverywhere else, and they also look forward to liquid gas from politicallyunproblematic regions such as Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, or frackingdung from the USA. And the FDP? This recently discovered their love for shadowbudgets and - listen and be amazed, keyword tank discount - planned economicforced happiness! The market obviously doesn't regulate everything - oh dear, ohdear, who could have guessed?And even with the large welfare state marketing project baptized "citizen'sallowance", the few fig leaves of real improvements turn out to be full-bodiedannouncement bubbles, which had to give way to discouraged and postponedimplementations. Key word: sanctions moratorium. In the coalition agreement, withthe introduction of the "citizen's allowance", the federal government announced aone-year pause in the cuts in social benefits that are usual with "Hartz IV",which were previously imposed if unemployed benefit recipients behavedunfavorably. The jubilation in view of this project was limited from the start.The majority of social associations and organizations for those affected wasclear that the announced suspension of benefit cuts hardly represented a hint ofnewly discovered humanity towards the long-term unemployed. Rather, it was a latereaction to the 2019 Federal Constitutional Court ruling that called for areassessment of the legal scope for attacks on the subsistence level. And allbecause of such little things as human dignity and constitutional conformity. Sonew regulations had to be in place, and that actually since 2020, but the oldblack-red federal government put it off on the notorious long bench. The newtraffic light government was in no hurry and wanted to take a whole year todevelop concepts extensively. The old sanction rules, some of which areconstitutionally questionable, should be generously suspended for this long. Nota big hit, but definitely a real relief for all those affected. But unfortunatelynothing came of it. sanctions moratorium? So far puff cake!Now it should finally come - probably from May 2022 - but only until December. Soinstead of the announced 12-month break from sanctions, only 7 months. And thesanctions for so-called "reporting failures", which in practice account foraround 70% of the sanctions imposed, remain unaffected by the moratoriumaccording to the current drafts. But even the canceled sanctions regardingso-called "breaches of duty" retain a catch with enormous potential forconsequences. Because according to §31b Abs. 1 S. 5 of the Social Security CodeII, sanctions can still be imposed up to 6 months after the triggering "breach ofduty". As a result, job centers nationwide would be legally able to subsequentlysanction "breaches of duty" that occurred in the later months of the trimmedmoratorium. It remains unclear whether this would become common practice orremain the exception - but legal certainty definitely looks different.It remains to be said: The planned "citizen's income" is already a shamblesbefore it was even introduced. Harald Thome from the nationwide knownorganization for those affected, Tacheles e.V., rightly criticizes the unfoundedshortening of the moratorium as a "massive breach of trust" and makes it clear:"Citizen's allowance remains Hartz IV as long as regular benefits are not paidand the sanctions are abolished!" From an anarcho-syndicalist point of view it isOf course, it is not surprising that the traffic light government is not areliable ally, not for employees, not for pensioners - and of course not for theunemployed either. The SPD and the Greens are continuing the same inhuman laborand social policies that they launched in 2002, and the FDP is - wonder oh wonder- no help either. It is all the more important that all emancipatory forces standshoulder to shoulder with those affected, against an excluding and destructiveeconomic and social policy. Unemployed assistance - and beyond that -self-organization for the unemployed are the order of the day. FAU can and wantsto make its contribution - in the syndicates, in cooperation with organizationsfor those affected such as Tacheles e.V., the BASTA network and comparable localinitiatives, or by supporting more comprehensive approaches such as campaigns tointroduce a basic income, or the 4-hour league.In this context, it is clearly to be welcomed that attempts are being made withinthe FAU to establish a national network on the topic of organizing the unemployedand securing livelihoods. This can share with all interested syndicates whatcould be relevant in terms of knowledge, forms of action, potential allies, andconceivable support structures. In perspective, campaigns could be developed andfought together. In this way, lived class solidarity is strengthened andfacilitated. Because it is finally time to no longer understand unemployment as astrange exception to gainful employment, but rather to understand it as asupporting and foundation-stone-forming function in the success of capitalistexploitation relations. Unemployment as an inscribed part of the conflict betweenhaves and have-nots. If you don't own it, you have to work. If you don't work,you're thrown out of society. Without this mechanism of impoverishment andexclusion, how toothless would attempts to make us toil under adverse conditionsfor the well-being of others? In this sense, a trade union orientation on thetopic of organizing the unemployed is long overdue. And as the currentdevelopment a la "citizen's allowance" shows, also bitterly necessary.Featured image from:https://weact.campact.de/petitions/burgergeld-muss-mehr-sein-als-ein-anderes-wort-fur-hartz-ivhttps://direkteaktion.org/realitaet-vs-marketing-buergergeld-echt-noch-schlechter-als-angekuendigt/_________________________________________A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C EBy, For, and About AnarchistsSend news reports to A-infos-en mailing listA-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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