Labour and Pension System Minister Mirando Mrsic on Thursday presented a proposal to make it possible to hire young unemployed people for a period of one year during which they would have their pension contributions paid and receive a monthly allowance of HRK 1,600, saying that the proposal was designed to help young people gain work experience while having their health and pension contributions paid, working with mentors and being trained.
Answering questions from reporters after today's government session, Mrsic dismissed criticisms that the proposal would put young people in "the position of slaves", saying that it was aimed at putting an end to volunteer work with young people working without pay, years of service recognised or training.
Employers who will hire young unemployed people for a period of one year will be under special monitoring, Mrsic said, adding that employers who had laid off workers on business grounds or who were not paying their workers' salaries and contributions would not be able to participate in this programme.
The minister said the proposed measure was not a new one and that so far it had been limited to the state administration.
"We want to expand it to include other professions as well and to introduce much stricter control. Similar measures were applied in many EU countries, like Germany, which applied it for many years and abolished it only after the number of jobless people dropped significantly."
Last year, 5,000 people were hired this way and this year Mrsic expects around 10,000 young people to enter this system which he described as "government scholarship".
He said that next week the government should discuss a bill on the matter so that it could be submitted to parliament by May 1.
Other government ministers supported Mrsic's proposal, noting that it would enable young people to gain work experience and new skills which almost all employers request when hiring new workers.
