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The National Agency for Employment (ANOFM) is prepared to pay furlough indemnities for up to 1 million persons, said the president of the institution, Victor Picu, in an interview for AGERPRES.
The money will be sufficient for all employees on furlough, the purpose being saving their jobs from being dissolved, the ANOFM head explained, saying that the institution will be paying furlough indemnities towards employers starting with April.
"The money will be paid to the employer, and the employer will pay in turn the salary of the employee," he said.
"The money will be paid from the unemployment insurance budget. The budget for unemployment insurance is approved with the respective sums for regular unemployment and other expenses. At the first budget rectification, money will be added to the unemployment insurance budget from the state budget, from the Ministry of Finance. But this will be done quickly, it's not going to be a problem, we're already having talks, we've already made an evaluation regarding the counties, we are in advanced discussions with the Finance Ministry to supplement the unemployment insurance budget," Picu added.
According to Picu, the money will be enough for everyone, "because even if there could be 400,000 - 500,000 (work contracts going into furlough - e.n.), we will pay, we are estimating and we are preparing for up to 1 million persons. Meaning there will not be a restriction regarding the budget, there will not be money paid depending on the budget, but there will be enough for everyone. We don't know at this time, after the implementation of this measure suspended contracts may increase and we don't have a very clear knowledge regarding how many contracts will be suspended, but we are preparing to have money in the budget for much more than 400,000 contracts. Plus that the rectifications may be done, there will be one immediately and others will follow if necessary."
"I want to send the following message to people: they need to know that this measure is so that the employers have the option for people to not lose their jobs, and the employers must know they have the entire support in implementing this measure, in order to manage this period well. This panic and fear and uncertainty of people may lead to the first measure, that is to fire people. We want to make this option available too, towards those who invested in people at their jobs, that they can apply this provision of the ordinance and suspend the individual work contracts of people and not fire them. That's essentially the message, with the firm belief that we will get through this moment well and with the guarantee that we are at their disposal to implement this program as efficiently as possible," Victor Picu also said.
