Slovakia’s Minister of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, Viera Tomanová, said on July 16 that she is considering prolonging the period during which unemployed persons can draw unemployment benefits, but not by six months as proposed by opposition SDKÚ party, the TASR newswire wrote.
According to Tomanová permitting the drawing of unemployment benefits for one year would not stimulate people to find work. In her opinion, the role of the ministry is in the direct opposite - to get citizens back to work with the help of active measures in the labour market. These measures, the ministry says, are currently being used by as many as 60,000 people.
However, the ministry is preparing several options on drawing unemployment benefit in order to make them more accessible for citizens.
“The ministry has prepared five variants,” Tomanova told TASR, saying that the variants deal with, among other things, the minimum period a citizen has to work to claim the benefit. One of the variants is also extending the claim for unemployment benefits by three months. This would cost the state budget about €199 million.
Opposition SDKÚ vice-chair Ivan Mikloš told journalists that his party would propose in September that unemployment benefits be prolonged from their current six months to one year. Mikloš stated that the measure should cost the state approximately €165.97 million but the outlay will be possible if the Government limits its “mindless spending and stops stealing public resources”, as quoted by TASR.
Unemployed Slovaks are entitled to six months of state uneployment benefits at half their former salaries. This is on average €282.15 per month. TASR
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
