Deputy PM regrets halting of reform by anti-outsourcing initiative

Deputy Prime Minister Milanka Opacic on Thursday hailed the decision of the Constitutional Court to declare as impermissible a referendum question to ban the outsourcing of non-core activities in the public sector, however, she said she was sorry to see that the initiative launched for organising the referendum halted a reform that would have led to savings.

"I must express regret at the fact that a reform has been practically halted due to such pressure. Today we have the Constitutional Court's decision and confirmation that the government can make decisions aimed at bringing the country into order and saving the money of tax payers," Opacic told the press in the government's headquarters after the cabinet's meeting.

Commenting on the ruling released by the court on Wednesday, the Deputy PM said that the government respected democratic procedure and had waited for the Constitutional Court's opinion on whether the proposed question for the planned referendum against outsourcing was in line with the Constitution or not.

Opacic regrets the halting of the large-scale reform which, she said, was to have protected workers and labour rights and to have cut costs inside the public sector.

She said that the government was already conducting outsourcing of non-core businesses in some segments of the public sector and that the government would continue making analyses where it could also outsource non-core activities.

Health Minister Sisnisa Varga said that he had read about the Constitutional Court's ruling in newspapers.

"The executive authorities are responsible for putting forward bills to the Parliament and this cannot be restricted by referenda," Varga said in his comment.

(Hina) ms

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