Federal Ministry of Finance wants to combat illegal employment as well as abuse of child benefit and social benefits or who?

dossier

“In any case, the German Lawyers' Association (DAV) is extremely critical of the Federal Ministry of Finance's (BMF) draft law to combat abuses in the labor market, illegal employment and abuse of child benefit and social benefits. (…) Such an abundance of power at the FKS is not necessary to protect the welfare state, nor to protect the rights of those affected, nor to protect competition. The strengthening of the FKS in the sense of a central examination and investigation authority, described in the draft as an “improvement”, distracts attention from the causes of undeclared work and illegal employment and discriminates against the people affected by it. In fact, the law interferes with civil liberties in a variety of ways and disregards the operational and private spheres, without improving the welfare state and/or the economic situation (including social security) of those affected..”DAV press release from January 8, 2019 , see further attempts such as comments:

• Renewed campaign on “abuse of social benefits”: 10-point plan from the federal government that will impoverish more people (from Eastern Europe) instead of protecting them
  • Renewed campaign for abuse of benefits
    “Experience has shown that such campaigns often prepare the way for further tightening of the law. The SPD-led Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (BMAS) has now presented a “federal government action plan against abuse of social benefits and exploitation, particularly in connection with EU immigration”.Ostensibly, this national action plan is aimed at combating labor exploitation and forced labor. From Tacheles's point of view, however, there is a risk that this will result in further isolation from labor and poverty migration, especially from Eastern Europe, and increase the pressure on the people affected.
    As early as January 2022, the Federal Employment Agency (BA) published the “Working aid on combating gang abuse of benefits in the specific context of EU freedom of movement”. This was not published by the BA because, in the BA's view at the time, its disclosure could "endanger public safety".
    According to the BA, the aim of the work aid is to detect alleged “abuse of social benefits”, in particular through the “pretense of employee status” by Union citizens. As a result, the job centers should examine applications for benefits particularly intensively, reject benefits if there are indications of this and initiate further measures against Union citizens.
    From Tacheles' perspective, this work aid exacerbates the social exclusion of Union citizens and reinforces an already existing system of social exclusion.
    Link to the BA work aid:https://t1p.de/3v53s 
    Comments on this:https://t1p.de/937ay 
    Paper on the current BMAS action plan:https://t1p.de/9j46y 
    An article in Focus from September 17, 2026 shows, for example, what public debate can arise from this:https://t1p.de/ladyh 
    The Paritätische formulates a clear opposing position under the heading “Social abuse – stop the perpetrators, not punish the victims”:https://t1p.de/gxz2e “Post inThomé Newsletter 32/2026 from September 20, 2026 
  • Running against the poor: The federal government is working on a 10-point plan that will make more people homeless and destitute. The inspiration: Duisburg.
    “When the tabloid “Bild” begins a text with “Finally!”, nothing good can follow. Bärbel Bas's Social Democratic Labor Ministry and Alexander Dobrindt's CSU-led Interior Ministry are actually serious about their 10-point plan against so-called social abuse. You could also say a 10-point plan against the poor. Or a 10-point plan against Roma and Sinti*zze. In the future, only EU foreigners who have “lawfully” resided in Germany for five years will receive social benefits. So if you have a visa, a residence permit, a settlement permit or an EU right of free movement. This is intended to overturn a decision by the Federal Social Court that made the opposite possible. The federal government also wants to take tougher action against so-called junk properties. (…) The particularly perfidious thing about it is the argument that this would protect them from being driven into emergency situations by criminal gangs. If you ask around the people in Duisburg who were evicted within a few hours and who have become homeless, unemployed and destitute as a result of the actions of the scrap property task force, you will hardly be able to avoid their immense gratitude…”Comment by Sarah Yolanda Koss from September 19, 2026 in ND online 
  • Tightened access barriers instead of effective fight against abuse: BAG W criticizes the federal government's action plan
    "The federal government has presented an action plan against abuse of social benefits that is aimed at immigrants from EU countries. The Federal Working Group for Homeless Assistance (BAG W) warns: The proposed tightening does not affect organized abuse, but rather people who have been living, working or looking for work in Germany for years - and are further exacerbating the already precarious situation of homeless EU citizens. (...) At the heart of the action plan is a change to § 7 SGB II and § 23 SGB In fact, it is not necessary under EU law: the five-year regulation is a national design, its restriction is a political decision (…) The action plan also shortens the bridging benefits according to Section 23 Paragraph 3 SGB socio-cultural subsistence minimum. The hardship regulation provided for in the law, which allows for further benefits in the case of chronic illness or need for care, is already too rarely applied in practice.A further shortening will exacerbate an instrument whose inadequacy has been documented by emergency housing assistance for years. Of the 133,640 suspected cases of misuse of social benefits that were initiated in job centers nationwide in 2025, only 377 - less than 0.3 percent, even declining compared to the previous year - concerned organized, gang-related abuse. The Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs itself admits that it does not have any valid figures on the amount of damage; There are also no official statistics on the number of people affected by the reduction in bridging benefits in the future. (...) The BAG W demands: - the retention of the five-year regulation based on habitual rather than legal residence in Section 7 SGB II and Section 23 SGB Consistent implementation of existing EU law instead of new exclusions.” Statement by the Federal Working Group for Homeless Assistance (BAG W) from September 17, 2026 
  • “Welfare benefit abuse”: mercy or whip from the state
    “Action plan against “abuse of social benefits”: Critics warn of general suspicion against people in need of help and see the welfare state in danger
    They can step down. Especially in the election campaign. Anyone who receives state social benefits will probably have to dress even warmer in the future, as can be seen from a government plan to combat alleged abuse of social benefits. The SPD-controlled Federal Ministry of Social Affairs has been working on this horrific work for months. The result was originally supposed to be presented at the end of this year. On Wednesday, Minister Bärbel Bas pulled her “action plan” out of the hat, which she agreed on with Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt (CSU). (…)The plan stipulates that the existing five-year regulation, according to which EU citizens with “ordinary residence” in Germany have access to regular transfer payments, should in future be linked to “lawful residence”. Municipalities should be able to take action against “junk properties” more easily, for example with repair orders, a right of first refusal, a ban on use or even expropriation. In addition, data exchange between authorities should be improved. If people are wanted with an enforceable arrest warrant, they should no longer receive basic security - a measure that was recently demanded primarily by the Union…”Article by Kristian Stemmler of the Junge Welt from September 18, 2026 
  • State welfare fraud: Bas’ chauvinism
    “Back in May, Welt columnist Hans Ulrich-Jörges called her a “welfare state Stalinist.” Last November she scolded the Junge Union as a “socialism minister.” Shortly after she took office, the Spiegel headlined: “The working class has a voice again.” That would be nice. But Federal Labor Minister Bärbel Bas was, is and remains a social chauvinist, like everyone who has achieved something in the SPD. She has more in common with her right-wing critics than with those she fleeces in the name of the state and capital.
    So she cups. Her most recent plan, issued jointly with Alexander Dobrindt: combat so-called social abuse. But they seem to be less interested in the sparrows than in the cannons with which the former are to be executed. Because with more than five million people who are entitled to benefits according to SGB II, the job centers counted just 406 cases of gang-related benefit abuse in 2025. The Federal Employment Agency and Bas's ministry admitted that they could not quantify the damage. Nobody knows how many convicts who have not yet started their prison sentence receive basic security. The only thing that is clear is that the latter should be taken away from them all.
    The plan is all the more grandiose: “Social, immigration, registration, financial, security, construction and social security authorities should be able to exchange data more comprehensively in the future,” the world registers approvingly. The aim is apparently total surveillance, with which the state's livelihood security can in the future be quickly converted into a means of pressure against dissenters of whatever kind. Of course, artificial intelligence should be used for this. Palantir may soon decide whose child benefit will be canceled and whose accommodation costs will not be reimbursed…”Comment by Niki Uhlmann in the young world from September 18, 2026 
• Distrust of job seekers: Shadow boxing with “organized performance abuse”. Experts doubt whether the problem exists
  "...The BASTA! initiative advises and supports people who receive citizen's benefit with lawsuits. "There is really a lot of money that is not even paid out," reports the spokeswoman. “Especially for people from Eastern Europe, the money does not reach the legally regulated amount.” BASTA! fears that people being denied benefits despite their legal entitlement could soon get even worse. The reason: the new competence center for performance abuse. The recent reform of the citizen's benefit to the basic security benefit, which largely came into force on July 1st, provided for new and expanded tasks for the Federal Employment Agency (BA) to combat "organized benefit abuse". To this end, the new central “Performance Abuse Competence Center” in Nuremberg began its work at the beginning of the month. (…) The central unit in Nuremberg is expected to employ a total of 72 people. Five more regional centers are to be added in the first half of 2027. (…)
  Is there even a problem with organized benefit abuse? According to the authority, “organized benefit abuse” – the employment agency speaks of “gang-like” abuse – consists, for example, of EU citizens coming to Germany, faking their employment contracts or their self-employment in order to then receive top-up benefits. They would be lured to Germany by criminals who act in the background and keep the benefits paid for themselves. (…)
  How many cases have job centers opened on suspicion of “gang-like” abuse? How many cases resulted in a criminal conviction? For the year 2025, the employment agency knows what became of the advertisements in 39 cases. In 10 of them there was a conviction and a fine. In 2024, 3 convictions resulted in fines in 36 cases with a known outcome. In 2023, there were 6 convictions and fines in 44 cases with a known outcome. Even in these cases, the courts were apparently not convinced that this was actually “gang-style” fraud. The Criminal Code provides for a prison sentence for this offense - in less serious cases from six months. For comparison: most recently around 5.2 million people received citizen's benefit. The job centers only open proceedings for “gang-related abuse of benefits” for non-German Union citizens. All other cases that are related to organized groups of perpetrators are not recorded separately as gang-related abuse of services. When it comes to unemployment benefits, there is talk of “organized benefit abuse” when a company hires people, pays them fictitious wages and then registers them as unemployed after 12 months. Here the numbers are in an even lower double-digit range. The Federal Agency states that last year the employment agencies reported only ten cases of “gang-like” fraud and handed six over to customs. The authority has no data on the outcome of these proceedings. Here too for comparison: around a million people recently received unemployment benefits.It is not for nothing that numerous experts and associations have pointed out that the debate about benefit abuse lacks facts and that the discussion is extremely disproportionate and defamatory. For example, in the fall, 60 organizations strongly condemned the public debate. It stigmatizes people affected by poverty and ignores structural causes such as exploitation, insecure employment and a lack of protection for migrant workers. (…)
  The criticism goes on to say that evidence that these people are actually committing “organized performance abuse” is completely missing from the document. The “patterns of crime” and “identifying characteristics” mentioned therein – such as the lack of a written employment contract, registration of the company with an accident insurance provider or a short-term termination of the employment relationship – are not indications of “gang-like misuse of benefits”, but rather indicate “the existence of actual, genuine – but precarious, unprotected, unsafe and exploitative employment”. The work aid reinterprets the actual victims as perpetrators. The Federal Employment Agency somewhat defused the job aid after the associations' protests and no longer mentions specific nationalities and ethnic groups in later versions. Nevertheless, the Berlin Ombudsman's Office against Discrimination, for example, comes to the conclusion that the job aid causes anti-Roma discrimination and violates the Basic Law..." Contribution by Timur Vorkul from July 16, 2026 at Netzpolitik.org 
• Not the Cum-Ex billions, abuse of social benefits should become a separate criminal offense - protest against the criminalization of marginalized groups has already happened before 
  • Social fraud: Who is actually being exploited here?
    “SPD Labor Minister Bärbel Bas has taken up the fight against social fraud. CDU politicians recently spoke of Romanians and Bulgarians who would plunder the German welfare state. But who is actually exploiting whom here? MONITOR research shows how the German special model “mini job” opens the door to the exploitation of immigrants.”Video of the contribution by Lutz Polanz and Luc Oeppert in the MONITOR program from November 30th, 2025 
  • Civil society: Criticism of the debate about “abuse of social benefits”
    “In order to prevent “organized abuse of services” in the social sector, Labor Minister Bärbel Bas wants to promote data exchange between the police, public order offices and job centers and tighten criminal law. Social associations and organizations of those affected warn of devastating consequences. (…)
    Bas wants to restrict EU freedom of movement
    Together with Justice Minister Stefanie Hubig (SPD), Bas also wants to examine whether there is a “criminal liability gap” in German law. Misuse of social benefits could become a separate criminal offense in the criminal code. The minister wants to ensure that “the proceedings are not always stopped”. Bas also wants to redefine the free movement of workers at EU level. Although this is an important achievement, it must be linked to certain conditions. She mentioned the possible introduction of a minimum number of working hours per week. Currently, people from other EU countries can easily enter Germany, register a place of residence here and start work, provided they have a valid passport. Unlike German citizens, however, they are only entitled to social benefits if they have a mini-job and the wages are not enough to live on.
    Proceedings only in suspected foreign cases
    In Germany, a total of around 5.5 million people recently received citizen's benefit. In view of the heated debate, the small number of suspected cases of “gang-like performance abuse” is surprising. By May of this year, the job centers had registered 195 such cases, 96 of which resulted in criminal charges. Last year there were 421 suspected cases, and criminal charges were filed in 209 of them. (…)Job centers only open proceedings for “gang-related abuse of benefits” against non-German Union citizens. According to the federal government, all other cases that are related to organized groups of perpetrators are not recorded separately as gang-related abuse of services. (…)
    Civil society organizations and scientists criticize thisin an open letter to the Minister of Labor. In it they reject the debate sparked by the Labor Minister about “gang-like social abuse by EU citizens”. This does not correspond to the facts and puts people from EU countries under general suspicion of abuse and fraud.
    Already two weeks agoNumerous other organizations and social associations spoke out  . You speak of media agitation and political instrumentalization of Union citizens in precarious life situations. The underlying causes such as structural poverty, exploitation and a lack of protection for employees from other EU countries are ignored in the debate…”Contribution by Timur Vorkul from October 29, 2025 in network politics 
  • Duisburg: Task force against poor people
    “A Duisburg model threatens to become a role model in the fight against alleged social abuse…”Article by Sarah Yolanda Koss from October 29, 2025 in ND online 
  • Abuse of social benefits: Bas announces better networking between authorities and changes to criminal law
    “In order to be able to combat abuse of social benefits more effectively, Federal Labor Minister Bas is striving for better networking between authorities.
    Public order offices, police, fire departments and job centers need to be able to communicate better with each other and exchange data, said the SPD politician after a meeting with municipal representatives in Duisburg. In addition, together with Justice Minister Hubig, she wants to close a gap in the criminal code, according to which the abuse of social benefits should become a separate criminal offense. (…) On the subject of free movement of workers, the minister called for the introduction of a minimum number of weekly working hours before EU foreigners in Germany are entitled to an increase in social benefits.”Report on October 27th, 2025 on Deutschlandfunk 
  • “The phenomenon that Bas describes involved 421 suspected cases among 5.5 million benefit recipients in 2024. And because of this 0.009% there should be a new criminal offense, while the bank criminals' cum-ex billions will not be brought back. It pisses me off so much“Post by Arne Semsrott from October 27th, 2025 on bsky 
  • Network Europe on the Move: Open letter to Social Affairs Minister Bärbel Bas against the criminalization of Union citizens in precarious living situations and other marginalized groups
    “Dear Federal Minister Bas,Today, October 27, 2025, you will find out more about “challenges and solutions in connection with immigration from EU member states” at a municipal conference in Duisburg. The focus will be on approaches to combat “social fraud in the context of EU freedom of movement”, particularly in connection with the current changes to citizens’ benefits.The conference brings together representatives from city administrations, job centers, the Federal Employment Agency and the State Ministry for Migration and Integration - however, interest groups for Union citizens receiving social benefits and precariously employed Union citizens in Germany are not invited.
    With this open letter, we ask you to look around to see what brutal effects the general suspicion of abuse and exclusion from benefits is having on the lives of many people, especially migrants, in Germany. We call on you to defend the principle of the welfare state, (EU) freedom of movement and human dignity regardless of nationality, instead of criminalizing, devaluing and excluding people in precarious living situations.
    Numerous civil society organizations are warning about the social consequences of the planned social reforms, especially increasing homelessness, and are calling for support for people affected by poverty instead of tougher sanctions. We fear that the tightening measures discussed today in Duisburg will be even more severe for people without a German passport, who are generally accused of abuse and fraud. (…)
    With this open letter we are sending you reports and statements from civil society that oppose the criminalization and exclusion of Union citizens in precarious living situations in Germany and draw attention to the serious imbalances in public reporting.
    TheClub Stolipinovo in Europe, an initiative of Bulgarian migrants, reports on the inhumane consequences of the mass eviction of so-called problem properties - as well as the de-registration of affected families from their place of residence and from all educational and social benefits - by the city of Duisburg's task force of the same name (see appendix).
    The intercultural oneYouth association of Roma and non-Roma Amaro Foro e.V.points to a completely disproportionate raid on an emergency shelter for homeless people on October 14, 2025 in Berlin. Presented implausibly as a benevolent advisory campaign, it is actually politically motivated and comes at the expense of Europe's largest minority. The media reported misleading and racist reports.
    TheUnemployed initiative BASTA! Berlinreports on invasive home visits, an increase in discriminatory statements in the authorities, residence checks by the family fund as well as the successful lawsuit of a Romanian family who was falsely accused of social fraud but who have not yet received all of the living benefits to which they are entitled (see appendix). (…)
    We call on you to take these reports and experiences seriously and to work to stop the policy of discrimination and criminalization of precarious EU migrants, people in disadvantaged neighborhoods, refugees, benefit recipients and other marginalized groups. We call on you to reverse the recent tightening of social and migration policy and to ensure the right to a dignified livelihood for all people in Germany. With best regards, Stolipinovo in Europe e.V. and the Europe on the Move network“ Open letter from October 27th, 2025 at the Europe on the Move network 
• [“gang-like social abuse”] Citizens’ money under general suspicion – EU citizens are becoming targets of populists and the media
  “For several weeks now, reports of alleged “gang-like social abuse by EU citizens” have dominated the public debate. Whether it's Tagesschau, WELT or talk shows - people who live in precarious conditions are always shown. But instead of arousing empathy, they are defamed as “fraudsters” and “social parasites”. This reporting follows a familiar pattern: poverty is scandalized, those affected are turned into perpetrators, and complex social contexts are reduced to headlines.
  The media uses images and words that serve right-wing populist narratives. When “gangs” and “mafia-like structures” are mentioned, fear and isolation are created. The underlying causes – structural poverty, exploitation and a lack of protection for employees from other EU countries – are lost sight of. This creates a debate that is aimed at clicks and outrage, not at enlightenment.
  The fact that leading CDU politicians such as the Federal Chancellor and Carsten Linnemann and even SPD Labor Minister Bärbel Bas are taking up these stories and calling for political tightening is dangerous. The free movement of workers is applicable EU law, which has been repeatedly confirmed by the European Court of Justice. Anyone who works here is entitled to social security if their wages are not enough to live on. Citizens' money is not a gift, but rather ensures the minimum subsistence level. Anyone who shakes it not only questions solidarity, but also the legal basis of the European Union.
  For many EU citizens in Germany, a mini-job in combination with additional social benefits is often the only way to gain access to the healthcare system. If these regulations are changed or restricted, many people will lose insurance coverage and thus access to medical care. That would not only be highly irresponsible from a socio-political perspective, but also a breach of basic human rights. Excluding EU citizens from the health system would massively exacerbate the already existing social inequality and, in the long term, also destabilize the public health system. (…)
  An additional look at the numbers shows what the current discussion is like: The Federal Employment Agency estimates the damage caused by “gang-like misuse of citizens’ money” to be around 110 million euros.
  In contrast, there is at least 100 billion (!) euros lost to the state every year through tax evasion, as well as damage from economic crime, which alone amounts to almost 3 billion euros annually - and the trend is rising. These figures show that those receiving citizens' benefit are monitored and placed under general suspicion, while significantly larger financial losses hardly attract any attention. What is remarkable is which forms of fraud trigger outrage – and which do not. Tax evasion is considered a trivial offense, even though the damage is many times greater than all known cases of social benefit abuse combined. So anyone who speaks of justice must see this relationship. (…)
  Poverty, insecure employment and exclusion are not crimes, but rather consequences of political decisions.
  We must protect democracy, the welfare state and social cohesion. We can't do this by criminalizing those affected, but by looking, sticking to the facts and tackling poverty politically.”Joint statement of October 13, 2025 at Poverty and Health in Germany e.V. and other migration advisory organizations against the unbearable debate about “gang-like social abuse by EU citizens”
  • See also:No improvement in sight: IAQ report on multiple precarization highlights the social situation of immigrants from Romania and Bulgaria in Duisburg
• Only in the interest of the state. Why the Financial Control Office for Undeclared Work is no protector for migrant employees 
  “There is great interest in the work of the FKS not only among journalists, but also among trade unionists and left-wing politicians. Calls for FKS controls are increasing, especially when it comes to minimum wage fraud and the exploitation of migrants. “We urgently need stricter controls on the minimum wage and a strengthening of employee rights!” demanded left-wing MP Victor Perli at the end of this year’s asparagus season. In June 2021, the DGB and the advice centers for migrant employees signed a cooperation agreement with the FKS, the purpose of which is to "combat undeclared work and illegal employment, forced labor and exploitation of labor, as well as illegal working conditions in this context." These are big goals that give the impression that the FKS is a protector of disenfranchised migrant workers. But is that really the case?…”Article by Tobias Seitz , published inexpress – newspaper for socialist company and trade union workIssue 12/2022
• With control against poverty - law against illegal employment and abuse of social benefits (GIBS) 
  “On June 6, 2019, the Bundestag passed a law that expanded the powers of customs and increased the staff of the “Financial Control of Undeclared Work”. It reinforces welfare state exclusions that promote precarious migrant work and combats precarity with control. (…) Overall, the law creates significant increases in personnel and skills for the customs FKS units. It is therefore a sharp sword. This is primarily aimed at poor migrants from the new EU countries. What at first glance looks like a colorful potpourri of measures is clearly based on the classist-racist poverty migration discourse, which is mainly promoted by the municipalities and the CSU with their slogan “Those who cheat fly!” Initiated in 2013.Whether social benefit abuse, child benefit fraud, accommodation in 'junk properties', bogus self-employment or daily wages - in the justification for the law, the conservative parties and the Federal Ministry of Finance (BMF) repeatedly made a connection to the EU's eastward expansion. In doing so, they fueled the image of the fraudulent Eastern European. It is no coincidence that AFD MP Kay Gottschalk, whose party voted for the law, celebrated in the Bundestag debate that the law would finally make “populism realpolitik”. The law also aims to address the poor working conditions of EU migrants, e.g. B. combat in the construction industry. This labor exploitation and the fact that labor law in the current system is enforced not only by the collective bargaining parties but also by the criminal justice system must be taken seriously - although a welfare state inclusion of migrant workers could provide more effective protection against exploitation.However, the control mechanisms provided for by the law start relatively far down the exploitation chain. For example, EU law on public procurement invites wage dumping - although since 2014 social criteria can also be taken into account in addition to price. Companies that accept such orders as general contractors only have limited liability for their subcontractors. These subcontractors and the precarious workers themselves are now the focus of the repressive law.” Contribution by Jenny Künkel from January 24, 2020 at the Dortmund Trade Union Forum 
• Working aid: Law against illegal employment and abuse of social benefits (focus: new regulations on child benefit entitlement and child benefit exclusions for Union citizens)
  “The law against illegal employment and abuse of social benefitscame into force on July 18, 2019. The stated aim of the law is toillegal employment, undeclared work and social security fraudThe legal circle of SGB II, SGB III and child benefit should be combated. ToFor this purpose, the law regulates the tasks, testing, investigation andProcedural rights of financial control. Illegal employment of the customs administrationbeen expanded. Another goal is to prevent Union citizens from fleeing poverty and unemployment into the social system, here: child benefit. ThisThe aim is implemented by reorganizing the entitlement to child benefit for nationals of EU/EEA member states (Union citizens). The justification for the law states: To combat the abuse of child benefit by Union citizens. (…) The first chapter provides brief information about the objectives and content of the changes to the law in the area of ​​undeclared work and illegal employment. The third chapter deals with the new regulation of the entitlement of Union citizens to child benefit. The new regulation ties the child benefit entitlement of Union citizens to certain (material) freedom of movement rights. The freedom of movement rights of Union citizens and the residence rights of foreigners who are third-country nationals are briefly discussed in the second chapter. The fourth chapter summarizes in overview tables which status groups of Union citizens and foreigners who are third-country nationalsentitled to child benefit or entitled to child benefit (specific to foreigners)are excluded….”Working aid from Jonny Bruhn-Tripp and Gisela Tripp from December 2019, status: Law against illegal employment and abuse of social benefits from July 11, 2019 - we thank you!
• Day laborers: Poverty is criminalized 
  "Olaf Scholz's law banning day laborers once again fights the destitute themselves instead of the causes of their situation. (...) There is no longer any room for a growing number of people on the regular labor market, even in rich countries. They move from small to small job, share a room with others or have to sleep on the street. The state is making life difficult for them by criminalizing their poverty. This is exactly what the Federal Ministry of Finance's draft for a "law to combat abuses" is now based on Labor market, illegal employment as well as child benefit and social benefit abuse. It stipulates that the day laborer market will no longer be allowed to offer their work as day laborers in a certain location. They face expulsions and fines of up to 5,000 euros. Many of them are excluded from benefits such as Hartz IV have formal employee status or lack the necessary evidence…” Contribution by Sebastian Friedrich from February 11, 2019 at Blickpunkt WiSo

• Poverty is criminalized. Neoliberalism Olaf Scholz's law banning day laborers once again fights the destitute themselves instead of the causes of their situation 
  “…There is no longer any room for a growing number of people on the regular labor market, even in rich countries. They move from small job to small job, share a room with others or have to sleep on the street. The state makes life difficult for them by criminalizing their poverty. This is exactly what the Federal Ministry of Finance's draft for a "law to combat abuses in the labor market, illegal employment and abuse of child benefit and social benefits" amounts to. For example, he plans to ban the day labor market. People would then no longer be allowed to offer their labor as day laborers to others at a certain location. You face expulsions and fines of up to 5,000 euros. The street corner is often the last chance for day laborers. Many of them are excluded from benefits such as Hartz IV. (…) Officially, the Ministry of Finance wants to use the law to combat organized crime. A misconception, like looking at the study work! Reside! Urban conflicts about EU migration, which has just been published by Edition Assemblage. The anthropologist Lisa Riedner has accompanied day laborers in Munich for years. Their result: They organize themselves on well-known street corners to exchange information, discuss informal minimum wages or simply to distract themselves from the long wait. Even a senior official in the financial control system for undeclared employment, whom Riedner quotes, is not interested in the day laborers. (…) Poverty seems to be less of a problem for Olaf Scholz’s house; rather it is the poor themselves - ultimately the law would put even greater pressure on day laborers trying to make ends meet..."Article by Sebastian Friedrich from January 11, 2019 on Friday online

• KOK statement on the draft law to combat abuses in the labor market, illegal employment and abuse of child benefit and social benefits
  “The KOK has published a statement on the draft law of the Federal Ministry of Finance to combat abuses in the labor market, illegal employment and abuse of child benefit and social benefits. The KOK's suggestions are limited to a few aspects that are particularly relevant to its target group. The KOK welcomes the plan to create auditing and investigative powers for the Financial Control of Undeclared Work (FKS) with regard to exploitative working conditions, in particular to strengthen the fight against forms of forced labor, exploitation of labor and the associated human trafficking. The draft also contains changes whose introduction the KOK is critical of. The KOK suggests a revision, particularly with regard to the planned change in the law on the posting of employees and the associated access rights of the customs authorities as well as the planned administrative offense with regard to the inadmissible offering of labor in public spaces.” Preliminary remarks onKOK statement from December 20, 2018

• Draft bill “Law to combat abuses in the labor market”, on child benefit for foreigners
  “And now the draft bill “Draft of a law to combat abuses in the labor market, illegal employment and abuse of child benefit and social benefits” from December 3rd is available. before. 
  And the next mess is on the way: No more child benefit for EU citizens in the first three months (unless “income” is generated) if they are only staying to look for work and if they are not entitled to freedom of movement. Probably not even for a stay according to Art. 10 VO 492/2011. In addition, the family fund is obliged to notify the ABH. The starvation of those who are not (yet) economically viable is taken to the extreme. We are increasingly becoming a slave-owning society…” Commentby Harald Thomé in newsletter 45/2018 from December 9th, 2018 with reference toInfomail from Claudius Voigt with attached draft bill

See also LaborNet Germany:

• Institutional hurdles on the path to greater justice: Why do few precarious migrant workers enforce their labor rights?
  Article by Mouna Maaroufi and Maria Seidel in express - newspaper for socialist company and trade union work 6/2022
• and many industry-related reports and “individual cases”
• There was a section in the LabourNet archiveIG BAU organizes block control?

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