Fico: Gov't Won't Consolidate at Expense of 13th Pensions

Bratislava, 25 June (TASR) - A significant portion of the Government's Manifesto has been fulfilled in the social sphere and - despite the necessary fiscal consolidation - Slovakia has managed to maintain its social standards, Prime Minister Robert Fico (Smer-SD) stated during an inspection visit at the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family on Wednesday. Fico emphasized that the recovery of public finances will not be carried out at the expense of the 13th pensions. „In the social area, despite the difficult times we are experiencing due to the need to restore public finances and the terrible state in which previous governments left them, we are meeting goals we perhaps didn’t even dream of,” Fico declared. Together with Labour Minister Erik Tomas (Voice-SD), Fico agreed that the next wave of reforms could focus on combating misuse of the social system, especially in the area of sickness benefits. The ministry has already implemented measures in this regard - particularly regarding fraudulent sick leave claims. Fico highlighted several achievements of the Labour Ministry - including the payment of the 13th pension for seniors, which will not be canceled under this government, despite opposition proposals. On the contrary, this social benefit has, according to him, the status of "unscrappable". Other successes include a drop in unemployment, reaching historically low levels, and an increase in the minimum wage, which affects night and weekend work bonuses. He stressed that the government must do everything to reduce the share of night work in Slovakia, as the country currently ranks among those with a relatively high percentage of such work. Fico also welcomed the possibility of investing funds from the second pension pillar into Slovak projects, seeing the greatest potential in the construction of rental housing. mf