The Social Committee of the Riigikogu has decided to send the drafts initiated by the Center Party faction extending the current system of paying sickness benefits and concerning the establishment of an extraordinary pension increase and a widow’s pension to the first reading in the Great Hall of the Riigikogu next week.
Chairman of the faction of the Center Party Tanel Kiik said that it is necessary to continue with the system of paying sickness benefits more favorable to people as a permanent solution, according to which the employee’s deductible is only the first day of illness, the employer pays the compensation from the second to the fifth day, and the Health Fund from the sixth day. “The current regime entered into force from 2021 on a limited basis and has been extended twice by different governments. Unfortunately, infections and viruses have not disappeared from us, but take new forms and spread further. Instead of applying various temporary, short-term and fixed-term measures to the payment of sickness benefits, it is reasonable to make the system more favorable to people open-ended. It is right that a sick person can stay at home and heal himself, and not have to worry about his economic livelihood or come out sick in public,” he explained.
“Unfortunately, the government coalition wants to return to the solution established during the 2009 economic crisis, on the basis of which a sick person does not receive any compensation for the first three days of illness. This would be an unfair and unhealthful decision that would worsen people’s economic performance during several simultaneous crises. It also leads to behavioral health risks, as people may start going to work sick under the pressure of circumstances,” said the former Minister of Social Affairs and Health.
Social Committee members Tanel Kiik and Andre Hanimägi pointed out that today’s government led by the Reform Party has completely forgotten pensioners and it is not recommended to fulfill the promises made in the elections. “The Reform Party promised to raise the average old-age pension to 1,000 euros and the Social Democratic Party even to 1,200 euros, but unfortunately this will not happen with the support of indexing,” says Tanel Kiik. “Therefore, the Center Party proposes to increase pensions by 50 euros in addition to indexation in the following four years. In this way, we increase the economic well-being of older people and reduce the number of elderly people living in relative poverty. High inflation has put pensioners living in Estonia in a situation where it is not possible to live decently with the current income. Pension increases so far mitigate the effect of inflation, but the elderly will continue to need additional support.”
Andre Hanimägi emphasized that in addition to the extraordinary pension increase, the possibility of granting a widow’s pension must be established for a person who is of old-age pension age and loses a spouse with whom he has been married for at least 10 years. “Pensioners are at the greatest risk of poverty in Estonia, and it is even more difficult for elderly people living alone to cope. In the case of the loss of a spouse, in addition to the mourning period, one has to face a situation where the economic situation and standard of living deteriorate considerably. Especially when, for example, the pension has remained considerably smaller than that of the deceased spouse, focusing on home and family,” Hanimägi acknowledged.
