AfD on work and social affairs

The AfD wants to bring back highly qualified people who have left and set up a dedicated state agency for this. It would take the place of the existing state agency for skilled-worker immigration.

Many well-trained people are leaving the state. The AfD wants to bring them back. A new agency should do this. It should replace the agency for bringing in skilled workers from abroad.

In the AfD's view, the demographic imbalance cannot be fixed by the immigration of many low-skilled people and welfare recipients. It wants to counter the growing departure of well-trained people. The platform rejects the agency for skilled-worker immigration set up by CDU minister Marion Gentges.

The AfD supports a community service year to be completed by every school leaver. It is meant to introduce young people to social tasks and spark interest in fields such as nursing.

The AfD wants a service year for everyone after school. Young people should help society during it. They can serve in care work, the fire service or the army. This also lets them get to know jobs.

According to the platform, the year can be served in nursing care, the Technisches Hilfswerk (federal disaster relief agency), the fire service or the Bundeswehr. The AfD lists it among the measures against the shortage of nursing staff. It is meant to bring young people closer to society's tasks and interest them in a line of work.

The AfD wants to launch a reform of basic income support through the Bundesrat (the chamber of the states). People who can work and still receive Bürgergeld (citizen's income) after half a year would have to do community service. In the platform's view, Bürgergeld gives too little incentive to take a job.

The AfD wants to change Bürgergeld. That is the basic welfare payment. People who can work must do community work after six months. People who refuse work several times get less money. The state will pay only 90 percent of housing costs.

The reform is to be started with a Bundesrat initiative. It calls for mandatory community service after six months of benefits for those able to work. Anyone who repeatedly turns down reasonable job offers or community service would get less money. Subsidies for rent and utilities would be capped at 90 percent. Recipients unable to work would be handled by social welfare offices instead of job centers, at the same benefit level. The platform cites a lack of sanctions and undeclared work as reasons.