TIROLER DAILY NEWSPAPER "Editorial" from July 4, 2023 by Marco Witting "Am wrong end"

2023-07-03 20:30:31

Innsbruck (OTS) – The threatening cuts for social associations and support programs on the labor market are a heavy blow. Once again you hit those who don’t have it easy in society anyway.

In most cases, behind the bare figures of a statistic are the fates of people. And so, in the description of the full employment that prevails in Tyrol, it is quickly overlooked that 10,796 people are currently registered as unemployed. For whatever reason. The AMS Tirol will receive 7.3 million euros less in 2024 – as of now. Ultimately, this number also hides the fate of people – including those who could or would like to be brought back into the labor market in a low-threshold support program. This cutback in the federal funding budget is something like the “reward” from Vienna for the good job situation in Tyrol. Of course, it is also clear that tax money must be used carefully.
But apart from the figures, this approach is a hard cut and a heavy blow for people who don’t have it easy on the way to employment anyway. And so, despite full employment, there is a risk of undersupply, which once again hits the weakest in society hardest. Savings are being made at the wrong end here and one gets the impression that the federal government, as is so often the case, is outsourcing social responsibility to the federal states. A game that is well known from the past.
Many projects are running under the heading of labor market promotion, for which politicians are happy to be celebrated. But the measures, funding and returnee programs and qualification projects are much more. They are a glimmer of hope for those affected, a visible sign that a good place on the labor market is possible and within reach for them too. 30 places are shaking due to the possible cuts in the local social enterprises. Places that were first fought for and then built up. Places where excellent work has been done. But with a budget cut, important know-how, trust and structures that may be needed again in the future may be lost here.
Yes. In the job market, workers are having an easy time right now. But not all. And now that companies are desperately looking for employees, there would be an opportunity to integrate people well who had problems in the past. It is therefore important, apart from any statistics, to find the best possible solution for the social clubs and the people who are accommodated there.