Government isn't Keeping Promises in Social Sphere, SMK Complains

One year after parliamentary elections in Slovakia, the opposition is accusing the government of failing to keep its promises. Deputy chairperson of the opposition Hungarian Coalition Party (SMK) Klara Sarkozy said on Friday that during its first year in office, in the social sphere the center-left government has not fulfilled what it promised to its voters. She described the central priority of the government in this area, which is submitting to parliament a Labor Code Amendment, as a wrongly timed step. "Recent data of economic growth and falling unemployment do not indicate that such hectic change of the Labor Code would be necessary," she said. In her view, the amendment would reduce flexibility of the labor market and this would worsen chances for the unemployed to find jobs.
Another important topic in the social sphere for the government in the first year according to the SMK deputy chairperson were the considered changes to the capitalization pillar of the pension system. "By her proposals, Labor Minister Viera Tomanova is putting at risk the future of 1.5 million savers [in the capitalization pillar of the pension system -- editor's note] and keeps them in uncertainty," she said. Also feeling threatened according to Ms. Sarkozy can be people for whom the state pays social insurance, that includes people on maternity/paternity leave, people providing permanent attendance for individuals with special needs, and persons with disabilities, for whom the Ministry of Labor plans to discontinue paying contributions to the capitalization pillar of the pension system.