Disabled persons, demand pension increases, warn protests

In addition to discrimination committed in schooling, employment, and many other areas, disabled persons are recently being discriminated against by the state even in pensions they owe them.

Since 2009, there has never been an increase in this pension scheme since the law to support disabled people had been passed. The latter are not included in the recent increase, which is also considered discrimination.

The chairman of the Kosovo Organisation of Limited Capacity Forum, Bujar Kadriu for Kosova Prees, says that the right which is being guaranteed by law to disabled persons is being denied by the state itself. And even before the budget was approved for 2019, he says he had applied to the Ministry of Labour and Social Management and the Ministry of Finance for the latter to get involved in this growth, but that did not happen.

Kadriu tells Kosovo that this category has become highly discriminated against in this case, and according to him, these daily face different challenges for survival.

It does not rule out the possibility of protests, unless competent bodies reflect on their demands. Kadriu says these pension increases are political rather than the needs of users of this pension scheme.

The exclusion of this category from pension increases is a violation, officials from the Ministry of Labour and Social Management also admit. Pension Director Bahri Xhaferi tells Kosovo that the possibility of their involvement is itself in the event of budgetary reviews. He has confirmed that the pensions of this category, now and many years, have remained as the lowest.

In this regard, Kosovas has also tried to receive an answer from the Ministry of Finance, but the latter have not responded because, according to them, the Ministry of Labour and Social Management is competent.

The Kosovo government, several days ago, decided that with the 2019 budget, it will raise pensions for several categories. Basic pensions, contributing pensions and premature pensions of Trepca workers are the ones that have increased with the executive's recent decision. And war categories were not included.

By contrast, in Kosovo currently about 18 thousand people receive pension as a disabled person, 17m euros, it is a budget priority for 2019 for this category.