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Pensioners are requesting the Government to increase pensions by 13% until September, due to the accelerated price increase, the chairman of Romania's National Pensioners Federation (FNPR), Preda Nedelcu, declared for AGERPRES on Friday, during a rally organized by the pensioners in front of the Government building.
The protest action was organized by the three large federations of pensioners: Romania's National Pensioners Federation, the General Union of Romanian Pensioners and the Unirea National Pensioners Federation.
"We are three national federations that are protesting, and we have a few hundred organizations nationwide. We are forced to go out in the street, because other methods that we used of sitting down to talk with the PM, the Minister of Labor, did not have the result we wanted, meaning nobody received us. What we want: the first claim refers to increasing pensions by 13% until September. We are requesting this increase given the unprecedented avalanche of price hikes, first among basic food items, without which people cannot live," Preda Nedelcu said.
The chairman of FNPR mentioned that another request from the federation is abolishing the Pillar II mandatory private pension fund.
"The second matter: we were puzzled, we are protesting and requesting for the contribution of social security to not go down by 5%, which employees cannot support from their income, as the former PM Citu wanted, because it would have a disastrous result for the national pension fund, from where current pensioners are being paid. Related to this measure is the fact that the percentage being transferred has gone up, from the contribution to social security, for a part of pensioners, to the so-called Pillar II pension. Our claim refers to abolishing this Pillar II pension. In Europe, apart from the former communist countries, to which the Pillar II pension fund was imposed by the International Monetary Fund, this does not exist. Why does it not exist in Germany, in France, Italy, the United Kingdom? Why don't Western countries have this system? Why did Hungary and Poland abolish them after 4 years of existence?!" Preda Nedelcu asked rhetorically.
The leader of Romania's National Pensioners Federation said that the administrators of Pillar II are the only ones that are gaining from this pension fund.
He explained that another request from the pensioners is increasing the percentage of the GDP that can be spent on pensions, Agerpres informs.
