ZAGREB, April 4, 2019 - Unions called on citizens on Thursday to support their "67 is too much" campaign to call a referendum which would bring back the full retirement age to 65 as it was prior to the pension reform.
The signature collection campaign will run from April 27 to May 11. In support of the campaign, union leader Krešimir Sever said that "Croatians have a shorter life expectancy than the EU average, citizens are sicker, working conditions are harder and technology is at a lower level."
Sever was addressing a conference on the pension system organised by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation together with the three union federations that are organising the referendum petition.
Under the incumbent law, anyone who today is younger than 53 will have to work until the age of 67 unless they have a working life of 41 years. The unions want the full retirement age to be brought back to 65 without penalisation and that the Labour Act allow anyone who wishes to work beyond the age of 65 to do so, Sever explained.
"There is no reason for Croatia to raise the full retirement age from 65 to 67. The system will be more relaxed if those who can and wish to do so continue working, while, on the other hand, people who are ill and tired could retire at 65," Sever said.
The conference heard of experiences in some other European countries – Austria has retained 65 as the retirement age while Belgiium has raised that to 67, similarly to Croatia, which resulted in huge dissatisfaction in Belgian society and union protests.
Transition countries are unique in that regard. Slovakia adopted a clear decision in parliament that has cemented the retirement age at 64 while Poland raised it to 67 and then returned it, the unions claim.
More news about pension system in Croatia can be found in the Business section.
