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The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats (ALDE) co-president Varujan Vosganian declared, on Wednesday evening, in eastern Vaslui, that the increases in pensions and salaries announced by the governors actually represent a "deception".
The ALDE leader, a minister of Economy and Commerce in the Tariceanu Cabinet and minister of Economy in the Ponta Cabinet, mentioned that, compared to the inflation rate, the salary increases for the public clercks and pension increases actually represent a decrease in income, equivalent to that of 2010.
"They talk about the reduction of the budget deficit and the fact that pensions and salaries are increasing. What is not said is that this is actually a deception. To say that pensions and salaries are increasing means using inflation as a propaganda tool. (. ..) In the year 2022, because salaries and pensions were not protected against the inflation rate, pensioners in Romania received 11 pensions, as purchasing power, so for pensioners in Romania, the year 2022 had 11 months. The same is also true for employees whose salaries have not been increased since January 1, 2022. (...) As they say, inflation is the silent thief. This thief, unfortunately, is not silent, but is perverted, because the Government actually boasts that it steals, it continues next year. So, next year we will have, according to the forecasts, an inflation of 8 pct. Cumulatively, this year's inflation of almost 16 pct and next year's mean an inflation of 25 pct. Increasing pensions by 12.5 pct and salaries by up to 10 pct means that by the end of next year we will reach what (former president, ed. n.) Traian Basescu did in 2010 (when the Boc government slashed the salaries by 25 pct, ed. n.). In December 2023, if salaries and pensions follow what the Government says, employees and the pensioners will be on the sacrifice curve that Basescu had in 2010, with the only difference that Basescu did not manage to reduce the pensions, because then the Constitutional Court opposed it," Varujan Vosganian said.
Varujan Vosganian was present, on Wednesday, in Vaslui, where he had a meeting with ALDE members from the county and participated in the launch of his volume "Stories about ordinary people".AGERPRES
