Roma from the Žarnovica District (Banská Bystrica Region) have begun to work on reconstruction of the Revište Castle for minimum wage income on Monday, October 22.
The reconstruction project is part of Freedom and Solidarity's (SaS) initiative Jobs Instead of Welfare: Real Solutions to the Roma Issue. "During this week, ten construction workers are to build a sidewalk and lay the groundwork for building scaffolding along the castle wall. They'll be paid €70 a week each for this job, which is more than they would get on welfare," said Vladimír Čermák of the Association for Salvation of Revište Castle.
The principle of the project is to provide jobs via an employment agency for people willing to work, instead of giving them welfare payments, a practice that the party wants to abolish for the long-term unemployed. "We're convinced that there's enough work to do in Slovakia, not only on the historic sights but also in towns and villages, and today serves as evidence that when people are being offered work, they accept it and do it gladly," claimed SaS MP Daniel Krajcer. SaS provided €700 to be paid as wages for ten construction workers, with the project slated to be completed on Friday, October 27.
(Source: TASR)
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
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