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PM says new pension law brings fairness to the system, asks that it be treated as a priority
The new pension law "will do justice" to the millions of pensioners and bring fairness to the system, Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu said on Thursday, calling on all the ministers involved in the approval process to handle this regulatory act with priority, for it to be approved by the government and then referred to Parliament within the shortest time, so that it is adopted by November 20.
"First of all, let me thank the team at the Labor Ministry, Minister Bucura-Oprescu and the Liberal colleagues for finalizing the new pension bill. It's an act that will do justice to the millions of pensioners who have been waiting for this for years. It's a law that brings fairness to the system. Equal pensions for equal work and equal contributions," Ciolacu said at the beginning of the government meeting.
He specified that pensions will increase twice next year, the first time on January 1, through the indexation by the 13.8 inflation rate, and the second time on September 1, following the completion of the recalculation process, according to the law. "We are the first government to do indexation and recalculation in the same year. However, we have one requirement to fulfill: to succeed in having this law clear Parliament by November 20," the prime minister said.
Therefore, Ciolacu called on all the ministers involved in the law's approval to treat it as a priority, pointing out that he doesn't want the pensioners' income to remain frozen "until 2070" due to blockages.
"You know very well that the removal of the threshold of 9.4 percent of GDP set in the NRRP for pensions depends on the adoption of this law until November 20. And I wouldn't want the pensioners to miss out on justice or, even worse, have their pensions frozen until 2070 because of blockages, particularly in the government," the prime minister cautioned.
AGERPRES
