The Czech government is facing a major battle in the lower house over a bill which would reduce the indexation of old-age pensions. While the cabinet argues the need to economize, the opposition says the government is hurting the most vulnerable group in society at time of “brutal inflation”.
The Fiala government on Monday announced that due to the growing deficit in public finances it had decided to cut back on the regular indexation of old-age pensions guaranteed by law according to the given measure of inflation. The bill, which would enforce this, was approved in a state of legislative emergency so that the cuts effected would save 19 billion crowns from state coffers this year alone. Prime Minister Petr Fiala said the growing expenditures for old-age pensions had become untenable and the state could not continue to run up a debt that would have to be paid for by future generations.
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Author: Daniela Lazarová