After the Constitutional Court (VfGH) ruled that several provisions of social assistance are unconstitutional, calls for reform were heard in the federal states. “I would like a way back to the minimum income,” said about the Vorarlberg social affairs councilor Katharina Wiesflecker (Greens) in the Ö1 “Morgenjournal”.
Upper Austria Provincial Councilor Hattmannsdorfer (VP) wants to discuss compulsory German in social welfare, as he said in the “Morgenjournal”. Hattmannsdorfer emphasized the importance of learning the German language for finding employment. There is already a “duty to make an effort” for knowledge of German as a prerequisite for receiving social assistance in Upper Austria. ÖVP club chairman August Wöginger had previously announced that his party did not intend to change the status quo. The countries already have “leeway”.
The Constitutional Court announced on Tuesday that it is unconstitutional for the federal states to only grant benefits in kind to cover increased housing needs or to avoid special cases of hardship, as laid down in the Basic Social Welfare Act. Minister of Social Affairs Johannes Rauch (Greens) had then spoken out in favor of reforming the law passed under the black-blue federal government in 2019, but did not rate the prospect that this would happen in this legislative period as “particularly high”.
Wiesflecker not only advocated a return to minimum income, but also found social assistance to be too low, according to the “Morgenjournal”. In the West, the cost of living is often significantly higher, which is why the strict maximum rates are a problem, they say Tyrolean Social Minister Eva Pawlata (SPÖ). Also Vienna’s social councilor Peter Hacker (SPÖ) spoke out against the equalization of social assistance throughout Austria. He criticizes that an upper limit but no lower limit was set.
