The bill submitted by the Government is blocked in the Supreme Court, which ensures that people over 63 can claim sickness benefit and unemployment benefit, Labour Minister Zetas Emylianidou said.
The problem of depriving sickness benefit and unemployment benefit to workers over the age of 63 who have chosen not to retire was discussed today in the Labour Committee of the House of Representatives, before the Minister of Labour as well.
The Minister said that a bill covering these cases was tabled from March 2021. "I explained many times to the Labor Committee and pleaded for the bill we submitted to be passed, precisely because we are in the midst of a pandemic. Unfortunately, the opposition decided to change the whole bill without knowing the correct way of the Social Security Act," the Minister said and said she would need to consult with the Attorney General on the manipulations that can be made to re-submit the sickness benefit law.
Committee Chairman and AKEL MP Andreas Kavkalias stressed that "neither side should be entrenched in their positions when people 63+ years old, who are affected by COVID-19 at the moment, are not entitled to sickness benefit."
DISY MP Onoufrios Koullas, in statements after the Committee meeting, stressed the timely submission of a bill on the issue. "Unfortunately, the opposition's insistence to incorporate unconstitutional provisions in the bill led the whole effort to a reference to the Supreme Court," he said, adding that it is something for which the right way must be found to bring back the original bill.
Source: CNA
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