GLAS party leader Anka Mrak-Taritas said on Thursday that her party has prepared amendments to the Social Welfare Act, according to which the status of a parent-carer, who now loses benefits immediately after their child's death, should be extended for another six months.

“The state likes to say that it provides different welfare benefits and it likes to throw away money in some cases, but in fact, it is extremely cruel to parent-carers. The law coldly states that the status of parent-carer ends upon the death of the child,” Mrak-Taritas told a press conference.

She recalled that the previous minister promised at the beginning of 2022 that this problem would be solved, but the said provision was not changed.

“Therefore, GLAS has defined its own amendments and will submit them to the parliament in order to raise awareness of this problem. There are approximately 5,000 parent-carers. What burden would it be for the state that after the child’s death, after that pain, these parents continue to have that status for six more months? We propose that after the death of the child, the status of a parent-carer be extended for another six months,” said Mrak-Taritas.

The proposal is on the agenda of the current sitting of the Sabor, and Mrak-Taritas said that the parliamentary majority “should finally wake up and stop being cruel to that group of people, most of whom are women.”