At today's meeting, the Commission addressed the efforts of the Ministry of Labor and Social Security to modernize public aid legislation. According to Mr. Fakontis, the Ministry is "at an advanced stage" and the bill on public aid is almost complete.
Mr. Fakontis stated that the bill is based on a new philosophy that is welcomed by the Commission and provides for the categorization of the various groups of the population that receive public assistance.
In particular, there will be special plans for single-parent families, asylum seekers, the working poor, the disabled, the elderly and those who are unable to meet their basic survival needs. There will also be incentives for those who can work to enter the labor market.
The specific plans also differentiate the way in which political asylum seekers will receive public assistance, with the aim of providing assistance in kind and in cash. There will also be an electronic link between the various departments and services of the state for better control of these applications.
According to Mr. Fakontis, the bill is expected to be sent to the Advisory Committee within days and a meeting of the Minister with the political parties will be held in March to discuss the specific bill. The technical inspection and the submission of the bill before the Labor Committee will follow.
The Labor Committee was also concerned with the problems, social and labor, faced by the Greek permanent residents of Cyprus, with the main one being that of unemployment. The second problem faced by some Greeks, as a result of the first, is related to the renewal of their residence permit, which becomes impossible if they do not have the possibility of self-preservation, as provided by law. Elderly Greeks who are deprived of the issuance of a medical card because they hold passports of third countries also face problems.
The Commission will inform the relevant Ministries of Interior, Labor and Social Security and Health.
Asked to comment on today's statements of MPs Nikola Papadopoulos and Averof Neophytou, who demanded the immediate payment of benefits for large families and retirees, Mr. Fakontis replied that the Ministry is making efforts to alleviate the problems presented by the of the relevant form, which, according to the MP, will be ready very soon.
"If the problems continue to exist, the competent committee (Finance) will have to deal with these issues in order to find the golden section," he said.
The Chairman of the Labor Committee also mentioned that the AKEL parliamentary group registered today in the Committee on Labor and Social Security two issues aimed at tackling unemployment.
According to Mr. Fakontis, the two issues concern the "need for legislation or other regulation for the obligation of employers undertaking the execution of public and wider public sector projects to hire staff from the local public employment services" and the "need to find ways to institutionalize it". Greek language as a necessary qualification for employment of staff in the sectors of services and other related sectors ".
The issues are expected, he said, to be discussed soon in the Labor and Social Security Committee.
Source: SigmaLive