The Labor Inspectorate has so far found no abuses in the payment of maternity benefits, even though it controlled more than 30 employers, the Directorate for Inspection Affairs, headed by Božidar Vuksanović, told "Vijesta".
As the main argument for changes to the Law on Social and Child Assistance, which caused a storm in the public, the Government pointed out abuses in companies that, for example, employed female workers on the eve of pregnancy and fictitiously presented that they had enormously high wages, in order to collect from the state the entire amount of "salary". The amount for reimbursement of maternity leave in 2007 was three million euros, while up to now the benefits for these needs have been higher by as much as 15,6 million euros.
Since it is clearly an abuse, the government remembered that the amount refunded from the budget should only be up to the average salary (476 euros), while the rest, if the woman in labor has a higher salary, would be paid by the company. This discourages employers from hiring young women because their costs potentially increase, but also raises questions about the effect of inspections, the police, the prosecution...
The Directorate for Inspection Affairs says that the special object of control were the employers pointed out by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare with initiatives from February and March 2013.
"The labor inspectorate did not find any irregularities in the payment of salary compensation for maternity leave, because in each specific case an employment contract or an annex to the employment contract was concluded between the employer and the employee (maternity), which defined the salary, and on the basis of which the refund was requested by the competent state body", say the Administration.
From that institution, however, they submitted everything they found to the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare.
"These data may be of importance for the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare to examine the credibility of the documentation for the refund of the funds paid through the centers for social work, so in case of irregularities, they will take further measures with the competent authorities", said the management to "Vijesta".
Pushing young women into even greater uncertainty is only one of the controversial parts of the new law, so non-governmental organizations, led by the "Parents" association, organized the signing of a petition against its adoption. Thus, it is foreseen that, regardless of whether parents with three, four, five or more children live in the family, the allowance for social assistance will be limited to a maximum of 120,7 euros, which is 55 euros less than the absolute poverty line that applies for one person only. The consumer basket for a family of four is 802,2 euros.
Minister, what criteria did you use?
Claims by Minister of Labor and Social Welfare Predrag Bošković that Montenegro has the most generous social benefits in the region are unfounded because the amount of material security and child allowance is one sixth of the minimum consumer basket, Dragana Radović from the Institute of Alternatives announced yesterday.
She said that the government department must explain the analyzes on which it based the estimated amount of material benefits, because the absence of such an analysis leads to additional doubts about the proposed solutions. "Determining the basis and amount of material benefits had to be the result of a detailed analysis of financial and other indicators, which the public is not familiar with.
It is necessary for the public to know the reasons for which the amounts of these benefits were determined at this level and that the Ministry must explain and make available all the analyzes made. If he does not do so, all the demands of the representatives of the civil sector who are advocating for the increase of existing and the introduction of new material benefits will remain justified", stressed Radović. It is not clear, as she said, on the basis of which estimates it is claimed that the implementation of that law will require less money than before.
"The implementation of the new law implies the establishment of the Institute for Social and Child Protection and the Fund for Social Innovation at the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, the introduction of social inspection as well as the transformation of social and child protection institutions in order to encourage the development of social services, for which funds need to be provided", Radovic said.
She said that the biggest savings in the budget can be achieved by properly directing money and preventing abuse of rights, which will be contributed to by the establishment of the social card. The day before yesterday, Bošković said in the Parliament that Montenegro has a better social protection system than 90 percent of the EU countries.
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