The governing majority has pulled its personal assistance bill so it can rewrite it and discuss it with the people affected, after a sharp reaction from parents of children with disabilities and from the opposition, Progressive Bulgaria MP Ivan Yanev said.
Yanev admitted the majority had not explained the proposed changes to the personal assistant system well. He said the bill was withdrawn because of poor communication, so it can be discussed specifically with mothers. The MP promised this would not happen again. Before the text goes back to parliament, the majority will discuss it with experts from the Ministry of Social Policy, with organisations of and for people with disabilities, and with the National Council for People with Disabilities.
Yesterday the amendments to the Personal Assistance Act were withdrawn after a meeting of mothers of children with disabilities with the finance and social ministers.
Yanev said about 35,000 personal assistants who care for other people with disabilities are of pension age. They work on employment contracts that carry social security contributions.
"All contributions are paid. This is a double payment. There is no point in doing it," the MP said. He said the special contracts will ease the system because no contributions will be paid under them. The majority also wants to change how it deals with personal assistants, especially those who are already pensioners.
The new special contract will widen the circle of assistants. Civil servants and self-employed people will be able to care for their relatives for pay. The rate under the proposed contract will be €5.24 an hour.
At present, employment contracts for personal assistants cover 2, 4, 6 or at most 8 hours a day. The special contract will allow more than 8 hours of care a day in cases of very severe disability. Yanev gave the example of mothers of children with disabilities and fully paralysed people who cannot look after themselves. Under the special contract, the insurance record is kept, but there are no contributions for maternity and sick pay, and no right to leave. Total pay may be higher.
The majority is considering letting mothers of children with severe disabilities keep their current employment contract, with the special one as an extra option that each woman chooses for herself. Yanev said a mother who cares for her child with a severe disability should keep that status. He said the changes must make sure help reaches people with real disabilities and their assistants, and must limit abuse. The MP called the withdrawn bill a first step towards a bigger reform, which was not handled in the best way because it should have been explained and discussed widely.
Yanev said money for social spending is secured and even increased, and the social package is stable, but the budget has a serious shortfall because of the state of public finances. "Money is clearly missing from the budget, and that is exactly what we found. The treasury was stripped bare," he said. The majority aims to put the finances in order and strengthen them, reach stability and keep the deficit below 3%.
The MP criticised the opposition for criticising and denying blame, although it governed for years in various combinations and agreements. The three audits by the National Audit Office on public finance management over 5 years show how the money was handled, Yanev said.
The agency Standard & Poor's has changed the outlook on Bulgaria's credit rating. Yanev said this is due to problems that built up in the economy and to the way public finances were managed in recent years.