Diakonie President Rüdiger Schuch reacted to the newest figures on the financial situation of Germany’s free welfare sector with sharp criticism of the federal government.
He told the “Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland” that “whoever orders social work must pay it fairly”. Schuch added that rising wages and inflation cannot be cured simply by improved efficiency – in the end, the people who need help pay the price through reduced services.
According to a study by the Federal Association of Free Welfare (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freien Wohlfahrtspflege, BAGFW), more than 80 % of facilities run by AWO, Paritätische Wohlfahrt, Diakonie and other providers expect cuts or terminations of social programs. One-fifth have already had to suspend services because of financial pressure.
Schuch described the BAGFW survey results as alarming. The facilities affected now have to put their red pen where the wounds hurt most: in helping people. He warned again that “spending cuts in social areas is the most expensive form of fiscal consolidation, because the societal costs of a divided society are immeasurable”.
The Diakonie president accused the government of losing touch with reality. “With roughly 34,000 services and ten million contacts a year, we as the Diakonie often know earlier than any ministry where pressure is building in Germany” he said. He pointed out that the economics of welfare differ from industry: “Every euro the state invests does not go into shareholder returns but lands directly in the hands of people in need, reinforcing solidarity and democracy”.
