Unemployment insurance

I met a German lady who married a Singaporean and lived in Singapore for the past 30 years. She is active in grassroots work.

She told me that the unemployment insurance scheme in Germany is a good scheme and explained the following:

a) In the town where she grew up, many people became unemployed due to relocation of their factories to other countries. The loss of jobs is beyond their control.
b) Many Germans prefer to work, rather than to live off the unemployment benefit system
c) If the unemployed refused to take up suitable jobs, the unemployment benefits would cease - as it is closely monitored by the government insurance department.

She explained that the unemployment insurance helped the unemployed people to tide over a period of financial difficulty caused by the loss of job. While some people may take advantage of the system, the majority are honest workers. While any system is not perfect, it has to be evaluated based on its good and bad points. The unemployment insurance scheme is, on the whole, doing more good than harm.

The unemployment insurance is funded by the contribution from the workers who have jobs. It is a fair system - those who have jobs and salary contribute towards those who lose their jobs involuntarily (and are not out to cheat the system). This is the purpose of insurance!

Tan Kin Lian