“This elite will not contribute to long-term care from this allowance. This is literally making a mockery of 99.99 percent of pensioners, both current pensioners and those who will become pensioners in 10, 20 years,” MP Andrej Hoivik of the SDS party pointed out when submitting the signatures for the referendum on extraordinary allowances for the select few pensioners.
On Monday, the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) submitted more than 47,000 certified signatures to the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia to call for a referendum “against privileges”. By doing so, citizens have clearly expressed their opposition to the unfair distribution of funds from the state budget.
“First of all, I would really like to thank all SDS members who, despite the windy and rainy weather, in record time, just over 20 days, collected more than 47,000 signatures of citizens, pensioners, young people and the active population, who are against special privileges,” said MP Andrej Hoivik, the first signatory of the call for referendum, as he handed over the signatures.
The law adopted by the Robert Golob government privileges a handful of pensioners by providing that some will receive allowances of between 1,200 and 2,400 euros per month, which means that selected groups of pensioners will receive privileged pensions, while the vast majority of pensioners live below the poverty line. “The people who submitted their signatures said: ‘Enough is enough. Enough of the arrogance of the Golob government imposing new taxes on pensioners, too’,” MP Hoivik was clear.
A clear signal to the government – enough making fun of people
From the first of July, every pensioner will have to contribute one percent of their net pension for long-term care. MP Hoivik warned that this was unacceptable. “We will be paying for services for which we don’t even know how much money will have to be spent on them. At the same time, the Golob government has enacted a law that will give these extreme pension supplements to a few. And you will not believe it, these pensions, i.e. the supplements paid from the state budget, will be adjusted both regularly and extraordinarily, i.e. just like regular pensions. At the same time, the elite will not contribute to long-term care from this allowance. This is literally making a mockery of 99.99 percent of pensioners, both current pensioners and those who will become pensioners in 10, 20 years.”
MP Karmen Furman stressed that the more than 47,000 signatures collected are a clear signal to the Golob government that “enough is enough of passing unjust laws that are making life worse and worse for people in Slovenia.” Today, more than 58 percent of pensioners have a pension below the poverty line, and 52,000 pensioners receive less than 500 euros a month. Meanwhile, selected individuals will receive pension supplements of several thousand euros a month. “The future of solidarity promised by this government is – pittance for the people and prestige for a select few. And we in the SDS party will not allow that,” added MP Furman, calling on all citizens to take part in the referendum.
Next steps and a call for a referendum
The signatures collected are the first successful step towards ending privilege. The next thing to follow is a decision from the National Assembly, which has seven days to call a referendum. The referendum is expected to take place in May or, at the latest, in early June. “This will be a referendum where the people, not politics, will decide. We will decide whether we want to live in a country where the Golob government divides pensioners into first- and second-class. I believe that we will gather more than 340,000 votes against these privileges, against the arrogance of the Golob government and for the justice of all pensioners.”
“So really, we want to invite all citizens to participate – not only pensioners, but also young people who already pay into the Pension and Disability Insurance Institute through their student work, and, of course, the more than one million active workers who have been paying into this pension fund for more than 40 years, to take part in this referendum and to cast a strong ‘against’ vote,” concluded MP Andrej Hoivik, before submitting the collected signatures to the house of democracy.
C. Š.
