Package of opposition measures addressing Roma problems rejected

At the session, held after public attention was gripped by a series of reports on persistent and deepening violence and crime involving members of the Roma community, MPs voted down a proposal that would allow violent students to be temporarily educated remotely, placed in special programmes, or even expelled.

The coalition parties highlighted that primary education is constitutionally guaranteed. Such legislative changes for disciplinary purposes would infringe on children's rights and mean the targeting of specific groups due to the behaviour of a few, which would further marginalise vulnerable communities.

Several other changes proposed by the NSi, based on a set of previously rejected measures proposed by a group of mayors from the municipalities of southeastern Slovenia, also sought to curb the misuse of welfare benefits.

MPs rejected a proposal that would have allowed the Employment Service to assign an unemployed person to a job with qualifications up to two levels below their own after six months of unemployment and to immediately remove individuals who did not comply from the unemployment register.

Labour, Family and Social Affairs Minister Mesec argued that the proposal "misses the target", since many within the Roma community have no formal qualifications at all.

While MPs of the opposition Democrats (SDS) insisted employment is the most important means of ensuring social security, the coalition found the proposal inappropriate and ineffective, warning that the provisions conflicted with the constitution.

Mesec had previously argued that the current situation in southeastern Slovenia is the result of decades of neglect and lack of communication with the Roma community. The government's goal is to achieve successful cooperation and coexistence with the Roma community, and they are therefore developing a systematic approach, he added.

He noted that from 1 December, 30 additional social workers will be hired to work specifically with the Roma population, and that the primary schools act will be amended to require schools to regularly inform the social work centre about any Roma student's absences.

MPs meanwhile also voted down a measure envisaging that monetary social assistance be paid in kind for three months if a child is unjustifiably absent from primary school.

The SDS was also on board for this, arguing that the rights of the Roma community should not mean there are no consequences for parents who do not send their children to school, but the coalition countered that social assistance is intended to provide material support for basic living needs for socially vulnerable individuals or families, not as a tool to enforce school attendance.

The National Assembly also rejected an amendment to the parental protection and family benefits act which proposed that child benefits also be paid in kind if a pupil does not attend school and reduced by 33% if a child does not continue into secondary education.

The SDS expressed support to this NSi proposal as well, while the coalition argued that the decision to convert social benefits into material assistance should be left to the professional judgement of social workers.

The NSi also proposed an amendment to the drivers act, which would require students to complete the seventh grade of primary school before being eligible to take a driving test, but this proposal was already blocked in parliament earlier in the week.