ZAGREB, October 17, 2019 - Ivan Šuker, a lawmaker of the ruling Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ), said in parliament on Thursday that, whether someone liked it or not, the fact was that the HDZ was restoring the statutory retirement age to 65.
Šuker criticised opposition members of the parliament who he said had rushed to sign the referendum petition launched by the trade unions' "67 is too much" initiative, while they are going vote against the government-sponsored proposal to reinstate the statutory age for retirement at 65.
If you do not vote for the law on Friday and if we do not support the law unanimously, this will mean that you have not told the truth to Croatian citizens, the HDZ MP said in his address to the opposition lawmakers who fiercely criticised the government-tabled law whereby the statutory retirement age will be 65 and penalisation for early retirement will be made milder.
Labour and Pension System Minister Josip Aladrović said earlier in the day that the government had respected the demands of some 750,000 citizens who had signed the referendum petition.
On the other hand, some of the opposition lawmakers criticised the government's decision, with Mirando Mrsić of the Democrats party insisting on separating the allocations for pensions under special schemes from the general pension fund.
The opposition MPs who participated in the discussion said that the collected signatures during the "67 is too much" campaign were the expression of the general public's disapproval of the policy pursued by the ruling HDZ.
Branko Hrg of the HDS party, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, said that disrespecting the will of the citizens who signed the petition would be insensible.
He also commented on "a political amnesia" and recalled that it was Mrsić who had proposed raising the retirement age to 67 while serving as Labour and Pension System Minister in the SDP government led by Prime Minister Zoran Milanović.
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