An Austrian state government has introduced a new approach towards asylum seekers, requiring those of working age who receive state assistance to perform community service and reducing benefits for those who refuse to work.
Starting on Tuesday, asylum seekers who are afforded ‘basic care’ of accommodation, food, and healthcare at taxpayer expense in the Austrian state of Burgenland will be expected to earn their keep through community service projects.
It is expected that the average participant will be required to work between 20 and 30 hours per week, depending on whether they have children or not. They will be compensated €1.60 ($1.90/£1.40) per hour for their efforts.
According to Kronen Zeitung, the community service tasks will include, among others, landscaping maintenance, cleaning parks or sports facilities, assisting in nursing or retirement homes, libraries, or other government facilities.
“It’s not about symbolic employment, but about real, everyday tasks,” said State Councillor Daniela Winkler of the liberal Social Democratic Party of Austria (SPÖ).
Winkler claimed that the programme will help “break down barriers” and make it easier for asylum seekers to learn the language.
Proponents have also argued that it is essential that migrants be given a daily routine and structure if they have a hope of integrating into Western society.
However, those who refuse to participate in the scheme will have their state subsidies reduced to the minimum required by law for asylum seekers.
“We don’t just talk about migration in Burgenland, we shape it,” said SPÖ club chairman Roland Fürst. “Anyone who receives transfer payments should also make a contribution.”
Fürst also appeared to suggest that the scheme may seek to disincentivise bogus asylum seekers from moving to the region, saying that the vast majority of “applicants also have no reason for asylum.”
Currently, the programme will only impact around 130 asylum seekers. However, the least populous Austrian state has imposed a limit of 330 asylum seekers who are eligible to receive the basic care subsidies.
While Burgenland will become the first state in Austria to introduce such a programme, the federal government in Vienna has also introduced similar measures, resulting in asylum seekers contributing 350,000 hours of community service since its implementation last year.
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