The Labour Ministry might ban temporary work for the unemployed, explaining they should not work if they are registered at the labour office and drawing unemployment benefits. If the proposal passes, it could go into effect in April 2013, the Sme daily reported.
The current law allows every registered unemployed citizen who is entitled to unemployment benefits to work under specific conditions. For example, the monthly wage cannot exceed €143.40, and such a person cannot work more than 64 hours a month.
Currently over 68,000 jobless receive extra income through temporary working agreements, which is 40 percent more than last year, Sme wrote.
The ministry believes that the new provision will motivate unemployed people to find long-term jobs. Moreover, another reason for passing the ban, according to the ministry, is the increasing number of illegal labour, for which temporary workers earned more money than they claimed.
“This [current] provision has been shown to be discriminatory towards job-seekers, and it fails to meet the goal for which it was introduced,” said the ministry, as quoted by the TASR newswire. “Employers often take advantage of this option to organise work via work performance agreements outside of regular job contracts, converting regular jobs into jobs involving work-performance agreements.”
Yet, Luboš Sirota from Trenkwalder recruitment agency doubts the necessity of the ministry’s proposal, saying that only people with low qualifications will work for €150 a month.
“[With such a suggestion] every unemployed person will lose the possibility of earning additional money; nobody will offer him or her a full-time job,” Sirota said, as quoted by Sme.
He added that these people will be forced to remain at home and will lose whatever work habits they gained while working temporary jobs.
Source: Sme, TASR
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
