Women working while on maternity leave will continue to be entitled to receiving parental allowances, Prime Minister Robert Fico said on Monday. Last week, the Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family, presented a legislative proposal according to which parental allowance would not be paid to those mothers on maternity leave who also work because of the necessity to save money to the state budget.
”We will not consolidate at the expense of the social area and this message will remain true,” said Prime Minister Fico. However, in his words, the Cabinet has been considering the option to renew two levels of the parental allowance, so that a higher allowance is paid to mothers who worked before taking a maternity leave. He admitted that ultimately the government decided to keep the current wording of the law. ”Today, common sense prevailed,” said the chairman of the opposition SDKU-DS Pavol Frešo in response to the government’s decision to dump plans to stop payment of the parental allowance to those mothers on maternity leave who are also working. He further said that Prime Minister Robert Fico had to give way in this matter to pressure of the public given the fact that mothers began organizing a petition against the proposal.
