SaS: Activation Work Ineffective, Ministry Should Invest in Other Projects

Bratislava/Kosice, May 6 (TASR) - Activation work for the unemployed makes no sense, and Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD) should therefore withdraw from Parliament a law on employment services that includes the Work Instead of Benefits project, opposition MP Vladimir Ledecky (Freedom and Solidarity/SaS) told a news conference on Tuesday, adding that the law is ineffective, with trade unions and the Finance Ministry pointing to this as well. "At its last session, Parliament passed at its first reading a law meaning that now we'll have activation work for everyone. We're unable to give people jobs, so we've invented activation work. You know, we've been activating the same people for 25 years, and the effect is that those people are still registered with labour offices," stated Ledecky, adding that €100 million for activation work could be used more effectively for investment projects, such as nursery schools. According to Ledecky, activation work was criticised back in 2020 by the Employment Institute, which stated that participation in it doesn't improve its participants' chances of being employed on the labour market. The Finance Ministry also commented on the Work Instead of Benefits project within the inter-departmental review on the law, stating that the system of activation work isn't effective within the framework of active labour-market measures. Ledecky stressed that Slovakia's central bank (NBS), trade unions, the Slovak Bishops Conference and the commissioner for people with disabilities have taken up the same stance on this. Ledecky also criticised the government for first approving the law and only then having the Labour Ministry draw up plans to conduct a study on the impact of its policies on marginalised communities. The study should cost €50,000. "This law is ineffective, will cause higher expenditures than the benefits themselves and will do nothing to get people back on the labour market," added Ledecky. The Labour Ministry responded by saying that the opposition SaS party has reversed its policy, as its MP Marian Viskupic praised this initiative by the ministry last year. It emphasised that the law should bring a fairer principle to the social system in the sense that if people who can work reject suitable job offers, they will be deprived of their benefits in material need. The goal is to motivate people to find a job, stated the ministry, adding that most of the social partners have supported this aim. ko/df