Croatia proposes new pension rights for demining specialists

Croatia's Minister of Labor, Pension System, Family and Social Policy, Alen Ružić, has presented a proposal to amend the Law on Special Pension Insurance Rights for Employees in Demining. The amendment aims to protect the rights of pyrotechnicians and demining personnel following the official completion of the country's demining process.

Under the proposed changes, a specifically defined group of workers will be eligible for early retirement regardless of age, provided they have at least 30 years of pension service, including at least two years spent on demining tasks. This is a modification of current laws which required eight years of active demining service, a condition that many workers can no longer meet now that the demining process has concluded.

The measure is expected to affect approximately 22 individuals whose employment in demining ended last year or this year. Ružić noted that Croatia officially became a mine-free country on March 9, marking the completion of a major national goal related to the aftermath of the Homeland War.