Work capacity reform delayed

Photo: Margus Ansu / Postimees

Yesterday, Riigikogu social commission received amendments to work capacity reform bill by coalition MPs whereby the latter desire to raise the income level triggering cuts to work capacity benefits and to postpone entry into force of the law by half a year till January 1^st 2016.

While, initially, benefits to persons with limited capacity for work were set to shrink as salary reached €641 a month, the amendment would set it at 90 daily rates i.e. €960 in 2015.  The benefit would totally disappear at income level of €1325 and beyond. With people incapable for work, the benefit will go at salaries of €1,600 a month.

According to health and labour minister Urmas Kruuse (Reform Party), the reform was postponed to be able to be better prepared for changes to come.  

«Töötukassa [Estonian Unemployment Insurance Fund – edit] said they’d need at least a year to prepare to apply the reform. As the law will be ratified in the fall, it would make sense to provide for a buffer time so people would not get caught in the machinery at the very start of the reform, but that all would be prepared as best as possible,» said Mr Kruuse.

Riigikogu social commission deputy head Margus Tsahkna (IRL) thinks the bill is still half-baked and pays no heed to the numerous faults pointed out by representatives of people with special needs. The oppositional deputy deems it troublesome that in addition to the current assessment system passed by people with special needs, another one will be created on top of it.

«Work capacity will be assessed in Töötukassa, handicaps will continue to be assessed in National Social Insurance Board, technical aids will be determined in a separate committee, for rehabilitation there’s a system on its own,» listed Mr Tsahkna.

«The government might take time out and merge these – this could be a one-stop policy because the people who have a hard time to cope in society as it is – due to special needs – are forced to run around so bad I don’t think a totally able-bodied person could take the system,» he added.

Mr Tsahkna thinks it positive, however, that the entry into force is postponed.

«In the social commission, we have had lots and lots of meetings with various organisations and all have explicitly said please stop the stupidity,» he said. «Let’s do it decently, because this may be a one-off chance to use such amounts of EU structural funds money to improve the social structure.»

According to Riigikogu social commission chairwoman Heljo Pikhof (SDE) the work capacity reform bill amendments have not been bureaucrat-birthed. She stressed that the Chamber of Disabled People and people with special needs directed bulk of the criticism at the overly low income level which was, as proposed by them, raised to the average salary.

The other desire of the special-needs-people, according to Ms Pikhof, was that the public sector would provide an example hiring people with limited work capacity. For that, a minimum of 1,000 people with reduced work capacity are planned to be hired in public sector by 2020.