ZAGREB, Aug 24 (Hina) - Some 600-700 million kuna could be saved in the budget this year with a set of social sphere restriction measures the government has proposed in a social policy draft for the remainder of this and next
year.
ZAGREB, Aug 24 (Hina) - Some 600-700 million kuna could be saved in
the budget this year with a set of social sphere restriction
measures the government has proposed in a social policy draft for
the remainder of this and next year.#L#
According to Deputy Prime Minister Zeljka Antunovic, this is a very
rough estimate as at present it is impossible to say precisely when
each measure will come into force. Some will go into urgent and some
into regular parliamentary procedure, she told reporters on Friday
presenting the starting points of a revision the government tackled
yesterday.
The social package that has been proposed refers to child's
allowance and childbirth benefits, pensions, care for war
veterans, health, and the like, and is aimed at avoiding the piling
up of social entitlements.
The child's allowance system would not change this year. As for
childbirth benefits, they would stay at the current 1,600 kuna a
month for employed but drop to 900 kuna for unemployed women.
The most important proposal in the care system for war veterans is
that only war veterans with a 50 percent or more disability would be
entitled to income. This measure would include half of a total of
33,000 disabled veterans.
In the pension system, changes would primarily refer to so-called
privilege pensions, which would be reduced by 8-20 percent and the
highest such pension regulated by law.
Said social sphere measures are one of several fields that will be
covered by a revision of this year's budget.
($1 = 8.4 kuna)
(hina) ha sb