State-funded special support leave for older employees of daily newspaper printing plants

Applies to employees on permanent contracts aged over 59 on the date the job-protection plan or collective termination agreement is approved, holding a job on a list set by order of the Minister of Culture at a daily newspaper printing plant that has signed an agreement with the State, and who will qualify for a full-rate pension by the end of the scheme. After redeployment or mobility leave of at least nine months (possibly shorter outside groups of 1,000 employees or more), the leave lasts up to 36 months. The allowance equals 70% of average gross monthly pay over the previous twelve months; the State covers it up to €22,500 per employee in the first year and €15,000 in the second and third years, with the employer paying the rest. These periods count towards pension rights, compensated by the State budget.