AfD on work and social affairs

The AfD wants Bürgergeld (citizen's income) and social assistance tied strictly to actual need, with existing sanctions applied. At the same time, benefit rates should follow price developments. Foreigners who are required to leave should be deported instead of continuing to receive benefits.

The AfD wants Bürgergeld only for people who really need help. Bürgergeld is basic income support from the state. People who break the rules should get less money. The payments should rise with prices. Foreigners without the right to stay should leave and get no more benefits.

According to the platform, Bürgergeld is meant to bridge the time until a new job. The AfD sees this purpose undermined because, in its view, no distinction is made between the politically persecuted and economic migrants, and some domestic recipients do not intend to take up work. To adjust rates, the party wants to press the federal government and, if necessary, grant voluntary state payments. People who stay away from the labor market are to be encouraged again and again to take up work.

The AfD wants to substantially improve working conditions in nursing and child care and raise the standing of these professions. It justifies this with staff shortages, which it attributes to low pay, heavy strain and low social status.

There are not enough workers in nursing care and in day care. The AfD wants to make this work better. These jobs should get more respect. Pay should go up.

The platform cites a forecast that 230,000 child care workers and 186,000 nurses will be lacking nationwide by 2030. It names low wages, physical and mental strain and low status as causes. In the AfD's view, the situation was made worse by the facility-based vaccine mandate during the Covid period. In professions with a high share of women, such as child care and nursing, higher pay is meant to make the jobs more attractive.

The AfD wants a major expansion of further training and retraining, especially for Bürgergeld recipients who want to work in nursing or child care. At the same time, providers of such programs are to be comprehensively monitored by the state to prevent misuse of public funds.

The AfD wants more training and retraining. This should mainly help people who get Bürgergeld. They should be able to become nurses or child care workers, for example. The state should check the course providers closely. That way no money is wasted.

The platform accuses the Federal Employment Agency of too rarely qualifying interested benefit recipients for nursing and child care jobs. As a result, people remain dependent on benefits while skilled workers are lacking. The AfD justifies the oversight it demands with cases in which providers were paid for programs not delivered or only partly delivered, citing the AWO scandal. Checks should be especially strict for providers that belong to or are close to political parties.

The AfD wants people with disabilities to be more strongly included in the labor market. Their pay is to rise and higher exemption amounts would apply so that a noticeable share of their wages remains despite benefits. More trainers and support staff are to be recruited and employers given advantages.

People with disabilities should find work more easily. They should get higher pay. They should keep more of their wages, even if they get benefits. There should be more trainers and support staff. Companies that employ them should get advantages.

The platform bases the demand on the dignity of those affected and the goal of at least partial financial independence. As obstacles it names a lack of specialists for training and support, and wages so low that working hardly pays off. The Perspektivprogramm for better job market chances is to be continued, expanded and deepened in places. Companies that train and employ people with disabilities are to benefit mainly through an expanded Ausgleichsabgabe (compensatory levy).

The AfD wants to stop companies from sidestepping mandatory social insurance through outsourcing or contracts for work (Werkverträge). Regular employment contracts are to be enforced more strongly. This is meant to protect workers and strengthen the social insurance funds, especially the pension system.

Some companies use special contracts so they pay no social insurance. The AfD wants to stop this. There should be more regular work contracts. Then workers are better insured. The pension fund also gets more money.

The platform describes a widespread tendency to escape mandatory insurance through outsourced work or contracts for work. The AfD's answer is a more firmly enforced duty to use regular employment contracts. Workers would thereby get the insurance coverage they are entitled to. Employer contributions would flow to the social insurance funds.

The AfD wants to secure older people's participation in society, including through senior citizens' councils and educational offerings in municipalities. Age-appropriate, barrier-free housing is to be promoted through a change in the law. Volunteer work by seniors should be recognized, for example with expense allowances.

Older people should be able to take part everywhere. Towns should set up senior councils. These are groups that speak for older people. There should be more homes without barriers. Older people who volunteer should get some money for it.

The platform sees participation as a way to prevent loneliness in old age and puts special emphasis on cultural offerings. Measures for older people are to receive financial support. In view of demographic change, the AfD calls for a change in the law so that age-appropriate homes and neighborhoods can be subsidized, and sees municipalities as responsible. For volunteering in clubs, food banks, elder care or hospice services, programs are to be created that provide expense allowances or travel money. For older women, the party also wants to reduce old-age poverty for future generations through better pay and child care.

The AfD wants to end Hesse's system in which responsibility for people with disabilities changes with age. The Landeswohlfahrtsverband (LWV, the state welfare association) would care for them throughout their lives. The platform says this would ensure equal care across the state and cut duplicate structures.

Today, different offices help people with disabilities depending on their age. The AfD wants to change that. One body should help them for their whole life. This body is the state welfare association. The party says this means less paperwork.

At present the LWV is responsible only for people between 18 and 65, while municipalities handle younger and older people. The AfD wants to abolish this model by amending Hesse's law implementing the Federal Participation Act. The LWV would be responsible from birth, or from the onset of a disability, until the end of life. The party also wants more people with severe disabilities hired into leadership roles in the restructured association, arguing that they know best what those affected need.

The AfD calls for a special state program to help cities and towns pay for barrier-free infrastructure. The money would come from budget items the party wants to cut, which were previously earmarked for people with no prospect of staying in Germany.

Many bus and train stops in Hesse are hard to use for people with disabilities. The AfD wants to change that. The state should give towns money for this. The money should come from other spending. That spending was planned for foreigners who are not likely to stay.

The platform says accessibility is lacking in many places in Hesse, especially in public spaces and at bus, tram, and train stops. It says this affects older people as well as people with disabilities, who should be able to stay mobile and take part in society. The state would therefore give municipalities substantial help through a dedicated funding program. It would be financed by cutting budget funds meant for people with no prospect of remaining in the country.