Three new contracts were signed as part of the Women 40+ Programme, a scheme which assists women to gain the forty years of service required for retirement, Minister of State for Employment Sándor Czomba said at a press conference in Budapest.

As Sándor Czomba pointed out, the programme was launched at the end of last year and it aims to support those women who are registered jobseekers and have only maximum three years left to complete the forty-year service period needed for retirement.

Under this Programme, instead of the employer the state assumes the payment of 100 percent of wages and contributions for a maximum period of 10 months. The maximum amount of subsidy is some HUF 160 thousand per month, he added. On the other hand, the Minister of State continued, the employer is obliged to continue with the employment of the employee in compliance with the usual terms for at least another two months.

The Programme’s funding totals HUF 1.5bn which is estimated to cover the employment costs of 1000 job-seeking women. Sándor Czomba stressed that with the three contracts signed today the number of women included in the Programme increased to 252.

According to requirements of the Programme, women above the age of 55 years must have 37 years of service, while those above the age of 60 years qualify without a service period limit, he emphasised.

Young career-starters and those above the age of 50 years – among these especially women – have poor prospects on the labour market. That is why the Government decided that as of 1 January 2011 women with 40 years of service have been allowed to retire without an age limit. More than 105 thousand women have hitherto used this option, the Minister of State said.

Sándor Czomba pointed out that over the past years the Government has launched a number of programmes intended for improving the job prospects of people who are considered to be disadvantaged. As an example, he mentioned housing allowances and the First Job Guarantee Programme, a scheme paving the way for career-starters to enter the labour market, an option which 16 thousand young people could utilize.

(Ministry for National Economy)