The Socialist Party will launch an online petition calling for testing for the novel coronavirus in retirement homes and work places, and a pay raise for frontline workers, among other measures, the party’s leader said on Thursday.
The petition calls for a hazard pay for workers on the frontlines of the epidemic, equivalent to 100 percent of their base salaries, Bertalan Tóth told an online press conference. The party also calls for expanding the jobseeker’s allowance from three to nine months and raising it to a monthly minimum of 100,000 forints (EUR 280), and offering jobholders between 60-65 years an option for early retirement.
The government should double allowances for young mothers and waive three months’ utility payments, he said.
Low pensions should be raised and those with pensions under 150,000 forints should receive a one-off payment of 20,000 forints, the Socialist leader said.
The government should also cover 80 percent of the wages paid by SMEs, Tóth said.
Featured photo by Tamás Kovács/MTI