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Tekle A.* (43) arrives ten minutes earlier than agreed – even though her days are quite busy. The Eritrean is a single mother, care assistant in the BSO and project coordinator at a refugee organization. She goes to school once a week.
“I make good money,” she explains as she marches swiftly through the central station, “but unfortunately it’s not enough.” She received extra support from social services. “Still,” she says. “Hopefully I don’t need the money anymore.”
Tekle A. and her ten-year-old daughter are no exception, but the rule: more than 80 percent of refugees and persons temporarily admitted to Switzerland receive social assistance benefits. Given the labor shortage in Switzerland, this is a surprisingly high percentage.
Many do not earn enough
But the payout percentage doesn’t tell the whole story. On the one hand because a large proportion of the recipients are children – which makes the quota seem larger. On the other hand, the labor participation of refugees and persons temporarily admitted is above 40 percent. Means: Many who receive welfare benefits work.
A contradiction?
No, says Sibel Karadas (46), integration representative for the canton of Aargau: “In a family with children, one parent’s salary is usually not enough” to get out of social assistance. Especially if it’s a poorly paid job. However, in order for both parents to work, childcare must be provided. “That often causes difficulties,” says Karadas. “There is a general lack of shelters.”
In other words, like Tekle A., many families belong to the ‘working poor’: they work but earn too little to live on. In addition, many refugee women have to stay at home because of the children instead of taking a language course, for example.
As Karadas says, “individual factors” lie behind the high rate of social assistance: some refugees have only been to school for a few years. Others are traumatized or physically disabled. “So there is a part of the people who will never be able to fully enter the labor market,” says Karadas.
Slow asylum decisions
An employment rate of 80 percent – that is how high it is for the entire population – is unrealistic for them. The federal government also contributed indirectly to this emergency. Many of those who came to Switzerland in the large influx of refugees in 2015 did not receive their asylum decision until three or four years later. But without this paper there is no funding: no language courses, no training. “We notice that there is still a lot of catching up to do in this group,” confirms Nina Gilgen (55), head of the integration department of the canton of Zurich.
And what about the personal motivation of the refugees? Tekle A. has a lot of contact with other refugees through her work. Most wanted financial independence. But for some, she says, “it’s hard to understand why, despite working, they only have a few hundred francs more in their account at the end of the month than they would have if they were completely off welfare.” to live.” She then explains to those affected: “It is in your own interest to get out of social assistance.”
A. herself can start training as a healthcare specialist next year – nine years after her arrival in Switzerland. Namely in the BSO where she currently works as an assistant. She is confident that she will soon be able to stand on her own two feet financially. As a carer, she can only work part-time: “We’re here to support,” she says. Because there are fewer children in the BSO on Wednesdays and Fridays, no help is needed on those days.
Civic integration pre-teaching should help
An example shows: Without a recognized diploma, some refugees find a job. But they are often poorly paid and their situation precarious – the chance of getting out of social assistance in the long term is therefore small.
The Confederation and cantons are aware of this dilemma. The asylum reform entered into force in 2019. Thanks to accelerated procedures, the majority of asylum seekers should receive an asylum decision within five months. Since 2019, the so-called integration agenda has also been in force: refugees must now be able to follow a language course and complete an internship as quickly as possible. The newly created integration pre-apprenticeship also serves this purpose. After all, unqualified employees have fewer and fewer opportunities on the technological Swiss labor market.
One of the goals of the integration agenda is: seven years after arrival, half of the refugees should be “sustainably integrated into the labor market”. An analysis by the federal government shows that this is certainly feasible. Of all refugees who came to Switzerland in 2014, about 55 percent had a job seven years after entering Switzerland (see graph). This group is therefore better integrated than refugees who arrived later and whose employment rate is now around the aforementioned 40 percent.
Get out of Social Security
Nina Gilgen from the integration office in Zurich is optimistic that integration will also succeed for those who came to Switzerland after 2015. “It’s only a matter of time before the labor force participation rate rises,” she says. “The measures of the integration agenda are only now starting to take effect.”
Tekle A. is also optimistic about the future. She is looking forward to starting her internship next year. “My goal is to get away from social services and be a good role model for my daughter,” she says. “I want to be a strong, independent mother to her.”
*Name changed
Source:Blick
I am Liam Livingstone and I work in a news website. My main job is to write articles for the 24 Instant News. My specialty is covering politics and current affairs, which I’m passionate about. I have worked in this field for more than 5 years now and it’s been an amazing journey. With each passing day, my knowledge increases as well as my experience of the world we live in today.
