- Македонски
- English
The Federation of Trade Unions of Macedonia is seriously concerned by the proposal of some Fiscal Council to increase the pensionable age for exercising the right to old age pension to 67 years.
Pension reforms in serious countries are made on the basis of comprehensive analyzes of the overall socioeconomic situation with all the advantages and key challenges in the direction of social care and security for the largest number of the population.
If the members of the Fiscal Council want to help patch up the budget in the Pension Fund, maybe they should start paying mandatory social security contributions on all their incomes which will set an example for others to follow!
In the past, we have witnessed such frivolous proposals from people who are not the workers to the detriment of the workers, and we note that such hasty measures by increasing the contribution rate or extending the retirement age only and exclusively to the extent necessary for covering the deficit of the Pension Fund and such measures did not bear fruit in the long run, on the contrary, the structural problems remained unresolved and the problems were repeated.
Serious policies and measures are needed to increase the number of young people employed through real and sustainable jobs that will be the result of new domestic or foreign investments and an increase in wages, and thus an increase in the funds in the Pension and Disability Fund. insurance and reduction of poverty, as well as policies and measures for decent work for all with respect for employment rights according to international labour standards in order to keep young people working and living in their own country.
It is necessary to introduce more conditions for retirement, such as retirement after completing 40 years of work experience for men and 35 years of work experience for women, early retirement, the introduction of benefited work experience for construction workers as well as in other activities where work tasks take place in particular difficult working conditions that are detrimental to the life and health of workers, old-age pension - by age or length of service - by activity, early old-age pension by age, incomplete old-age pension according to age, provision of the opportunity to purchase seniority.
In addition, comprehensive engagements are needed to transform undeclared work into reported and full engagement of the inspection and other state authorities for the collection of social contributions in full, and due to undeclared work the State annually loses 250 million euros that remain in the pockets of the bosses. Only in this way, social funds can will become real and sustainable and will be real protection and security for workers and citizens in conditions of illness, old age, and unemployment.
Until then, we cannot play with the health and life of workers and citizens, we cannot, without their will and need, extend their working experience and expose their lives to danger by extending the working life and postponing the well-deserved retirement as a cover for bad policies going back a long period of time.
Such proposals drove away the young workers, and someone seriously wants to drive away the older workers from Macedonia as well!
