Zagreb - The chairman of the Croatian Parliament Committee on Labour, Pension System and Social Partnership, Silvano Hrelja, and Committee members met in Zagreb on Monday with a delegation of the Slovenian Parliament Committee on Labour, Family, Social Issues and Persons with Disabilities to discuss the effects of the economic crisis on the two countries' social policy and labour legislation.
Hrelja informed the guests about the ongoing reforms of the Croatian pension system, labour market and welfare, and said that the new Labour Bill and the Safety at Work Bill were in the process of adoption.The chairwoman of the Slovenian Committee, Andreja Crnak Meglic, presented the pension reform in Slovenia, saying that a detailed evaluation of the entire system was still pending, but that expectations had mostly been met.
Hrelja and Crnak Meglic highlighted high unemployment in both countries, especially among young people. The unemployment rate in Slovenia is 14.1%, and 25% of the unemployed are young people. Slovenian youth guarantee programmes include 42 measures and the government is successfully using EU funding for that purpose. Also discussed was the reform of social insurance in Slovenia and the need to restructure the economy so as to better connect the education system with the labour market. The meeting was also attended by members of the Croatian Parliament's Committee on Health and Social Policy and Committee on Family, Youth and Sports.