Demonstrations against the resumption of the refugee consultative services
Stefan Zimkeit, a member of the state parliament for Oberhausen-Sterkrade and Dinslaken, has joined a protest by welfare associations against the restructuring of refugee counseling in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW).
The restructuring, announced by the NRW refugee ministry, involves a reduction in funding for counseling facilities to 80 percent. This could lead to many experienced counselors losing their jobs and established welfare associations, including AWO, DRK, Caritas, and the Protestant Church, potentially withdrawing from refugee counseling due to insufficient funds to compensate for the state funding reduction.
Zimkeit, who serves as the spokesman for budget and finance policy of the SPD state parliamentary group, accuses refugee minister Joachim Stamp of deliberately putting the quality of refugee counseling at risk. He fears that the reduction in funding will have significant consequences and warns of a significant loss in quality due to the restructuring.
The tendering process announced by the FDP-led ministry could result in new providers entering the market, using non-standard employment relationships to be cheaper. However, the new provider entering the market has not been publicly specified.
Stefan Zimkeit believes that the loss in quality contradicts all integration efforts and urges the ministry to reconsider its decision. He is calling for a more sustainable and fair approach to refugee counseling in NRW.
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