At its eighteenth session, held on 8 December, the Committee on Labour, Ex-Servicemen’s and Social Issues discussed and in principle endorsed the Bill Amending and Modifying the Act on Social Protection and the Provision of Social Security, and the Bill Amending and Modifying the Act on Financial Support for Families with Children. The Bills were presented by the Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Policy, Slobodan Lalovic.

Presenting the Bill Amending and Modifying the Act on Social Protection and the Provision of Social Security, Mr Lalovic said that the basic aim of the proposed legislation was to improve the financial situation of Category I disabled persons. This relates mostly to civilian disabled persons, whose benefits have hitherto not been harmonised with those of disabled soldiers. Benefits received by civilian disabled persons are to be matched to the average salary in Serbia, which will in turn lead to an increase of between 60 and 160 percent over sums currently received. The Bill, if adopted, would come into effect on 1 July 2006.

The Bill Amending and Modifying the Act on Financial Support for Families with Children proposes the increase of one-off benefits for parents at the birth of their first child to 20,000 dinars, while unchanged benefits for second, third and fourth child are proposed to be paid over a 24-month period, thereby ensuring that the benefits are actually spent on children, and not by parents on themselves. Maternity benefits are to be matched with the average salary in Serbia, and the average salary paid by the mother’s employer. The census for enjoying rights under the Bill would be raised for households owning poorer-quality land to two hectares per household member, while social security benefits would not be considered income affecting such rights. Benefits under the Bill would be re-assessed twice per year to match rises in costs of living, Mr Lalovic said.

The session was chaired by Ivana Kovacevic.