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Tomanova: Subsistence Level Calculations Must Be Reconsidered
Monday 25 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Bratislava, January 25 (TASR) - The current method of working out the subsistence level must be "seriously re-considered", said Labour, Social Affairs and the Family Minister Viera Tomanova on Monday after a session of the so-called Tripartite (representatives of the Government, employers and trade unions), adding that the calculations should be revised as of 2013.
According to Tomanova, the subsistence level should be derived from a realistic look into the consumer basket, as well as at the bills of low-income families. She added that the ministry wanted to deal with the issue back in 2007, but lacked the necessary consumer-basket data.
The labour minister isn't yet able to say by how much the subsistence level could grow. "It'll be clear in 2010," she said, also noting that various social allowances and deductible items will have to be recalculated as well, as they're derived from the substance level.
The Tripartite took the ministry's concept into consideration. "A working group will be formed at the ministry, dealing with enacting the new concept. Our only remark was that labour costs in Slovakia must be taken into consideration when introducing a new concept, as they grow year by year, reducing the competitiveness of Slovak companies to a certain extent," said secretary of the Republican Union of Employers (RUZ) Martin Hostak.
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