Radio România Internațional

Tag: Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu

  • The pension law in the spotlight again

    The pension law in the spotlight again


    The new pensions bill has been approved by the Romanian government before being sent to Parliament. According to the labour minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, the standard retirement age and contribution levels remain unchanged, and all pensions will be recalculated. She has announced that the pension point will increase gradually until 2021. Next year, it will stand at 270 Euros, in 2020 at 380 Euros and in 2021 at 400 Euros. She has added that pensions will not decrease after the enforcement of the new law.



    Here is labour minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu:


    “The pensions bill stipulates that no one will receive less money. If the recalculation leads to a lower amount than the amount currently received, then the latter will be maintained. The standard retirement age will not be altered, nor will be the minimum and full contribution levels. Another novelty is that women who have contributed in full for 15 years and have given birth and raised three children can retire 6 years earlier.”



    To be able to retire early, Romanians need to have worked for at least 15 years. As a first, persons who do not meet this requirement when the law comes into force will be able to choose to receive the minimum social benefit if its bigger than their pension. Other novelties of the new bill include considering the periods studying for the masters and doctoral degrees as non-contributory periods assimilated to the contribution period, just like in the case of university, military service, the disability pension, medical leave, child rearing leave, unemployment benefits, deportation, prison time and political detention.



    Like the old law, the new one also provides for four types of pension: old-age pension, early retirement pension, disability pension and successor pension, but some have seen certain changes in terms of structure. The optional insurance contract is maintained, albeit with a few changes. While under the current law, payments can be made for only five consecutive retroactive years, in the future, the person in question will be able to choose different non-contributory periods totaling five years. The minimum pension is calculated based on the gross minimum wage in the respective year.



    Persons who have contributed for at least 15 years receive 45% of the gross minimum wage, with 1% being added for each year they contribute. All salary rights for which contributions have been paid will be taken into account, including benefits, global agreements, bonuses, overtime, etc. The new bill also aims to improve online access to information about peoples own contributions.


    (translated by Cristina Mateescu)




  • April 3, 2018 UPDATE

    April 3, 2018 UPDATE


    TALKS – On Tuesday, Romanias President Klaus Iohannis warned the Executive that the salary law for public sector employees ran counter to the principles of equality and predictability and called for caution in approaching economic policies. The head of state also said that transferring the obligation to pay social security contributions from employers to employees and reducing the tax on salaries lead to an insignificant increase in the net salaries, and the effect was annulled by the growing inflation rate. The president made the statements during the meeting he had with the Social Democrat Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu. In turn, the latter ensured the president of the fact that the financial resources needed for the application of the salary law and the subsequent pay rises were stable. We recall that lately, the coalition government formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats has been the target of many protests triggered by the new salary law.



    MOTION – The Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest on Tuesday discussed the simple motion tabled by the opposition National Liberal Party against the Culture Minister George Ivascu. The Liberals have denounced negligence in preparing the events dedicated to the anniversary of 100 years since the Great Union and have voiced concern over what they see as the Governments inability to ensure a proper celebration of the day of December 1st. The Liberals say that a public debate is needed in order to put together a national plan for the celebration of the centennial. The Save Romania Union and the Peoples Movement Party are also supporting the motion. The vote has been scheduled for Wednesday.



    GENDARMERIE – A special military ceremony was held on Tuesday in the capital Bucharest, marking the anniversary of 168 years since the establishment of the Romanian Gendarmerie. Many cities in the country have been hosting events devoted to this anniversary, with activities for both kids and adults. In Bucharest people were invited to participate in the Gendarmerie Race over a distance of 5 kilometers.



    MOLDOVA – As many as four parties would make it to Parliament in Chisinau, if early elections were called, according to the results of a poll presented by the Moldovan Association of Sociologists and Demographers. These are President Igor Dodons pro-Russian Party of Socialists, the pro-European Action and Solidarity Party, the ruling Democratic Party and the pro-European Dignity and Truth Platform. The poll shows that the pro-Moscow president Igor Dodon enjoys the trust of 50% of the people interviewed, followed by the leader of the Action and Solidarity Party Maia Sandu and the former communist President Vladimir Voronin. More than half of the respondents do not trust any politician.



    HACKERS – 20 hackers have been arrested in Romania and Italy after stealing approximately one million Euros from bank clients, the European Unions Judicial Cooperation Unit (Eurojust) announced on Tuesday. The hackers have stolen from more than 100 clients of banks from both countries. According to Eurojust, the hackers sent to those banks clients e-mails resembling those sent by banks or fiscal authorities and thus obtained personal data and information about their bank accounts.



    CONSTRUCTION – The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Tuesday launched the construction of the first nuclear power plant in Turkey, by the Russian giant Rosatom. According to France Presse, this is evidence of the two countries flourishing relationship. The 20 billion Euro project is part of a development plan initiated by Erdogan, who wants to turn Turkey into one of the worlds ten richest countries by 2023, when the Turkish Republic celebrates its 100th anniversary. On Wednesday, the two presidents will be joined by the Iranian president Hassan Rohani to discuss Syria. Ankara and Moscow have overcome the diplomatic crisis triggered by the incident of 2015, when Turkish warplanes shot down a Russian military aircraft on the border with Syria.




  • February 21, 2018 UPDATE

    February 21, 2018 UPDATE


    BRUSSELS – Romania’s place is
    clearly in the Schengen area, said in Brussels on Wednesday the European
    Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, in a joint press conference with the
    Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancila. The EC President also said that the
    Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, by means of which the Commission
    monitors the Romanian justice system, must be lifted. Also, Juncker said that,
    in the first half of 2019, when it will
    be holding the presidency of the EU Council, Romania will be faced with a huge
    responsibility. In turn, the Romanian Prime Minister said that the CVM should
    be lifted, because it’s not normal for Romania to take over the presidency of
    the EU Council while still under sanction. Romania will make all possible efforts
    to ensure a fair and transparent cooperation with the European institutions,
    the Prime Minister also said. On Tuesday, Viorica Dancila, on her first formal
    visit abroad as Prime Minister of Romania, held talks with the President of the
    European Parliament Antonio Tajani and the European Council President Donald
    Tusk.






    MOTION – The simple motion
    filed by the opposition National Liberal Party against the Labour Minister Lia
    Olguta Vasilescu was rejected by the Romanian Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday.
    157 deputies voted against, 96 for and 16 abstained. The Liberal Party accuses
    the ruling coalition of disturbing the fiscal and social systems and of
    creating gaps between the private and the public sectors. According to the
    initiators of the no-confidence motion, shifting the obligation to pay social
    security contributions from employers to employees has led to a drop in the
    salaries of more than two million people. At the debate held in the Chamber of
    Deputies, minister Olguta Vasilescu said that salaries cannot drop if employers
    do the right thing, as provided by law.






    CONSTITUTIONAL COURT – Romania’s Constitutional Court on Wednesday
    rejected as inadmissible the complaints submitted by the Save Romania Union
    regarding the revision in Parliament of the justice laws. The opposition Save
    Romania Union had filed several claims of unconstitutionality against the Law
    on the organization and functioning of the Superior Council of Magistracy, the Law on the status of judges and
    prosecutors and the Law regarding judicial organization. According to the Save
    Romania Union, the three laws, as endorsed by parliament, undermine the
    independence of the Romanian magistrates. The political power in Bucharest, however, argues that the revision of
    the justice laws was necessary, given that they had not been revised in over ten
    years. On the other hand, the political opposition, part of civil society and
    the magistrates’ professional organizations are against the changes, saying
    they only serve the vested interests of some politicians and business people.








    MOLDOVA – Romania’s President
    Klaus Iohannis received on Wednesday in Bucharest the Deputy Prime Minister for
    European Integration of the Republic of Moldova, Iurie Leanca. On the occasion,
    the Romanian president stressed the fact that a European road is the only way
    for the future Republic of Moldova. Among other things, the two officials
    talked about Moldova’s getting connected to the European energy system, through
    Romania. On Tuesday, Leanca also held talks with the Romanian Foreign Minister
    Teodor Melescanu and the Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor
    Negrescu.












    PROTEST – On Wednesday,
    education trade unionists took to the streets and picketed the headquarters of
    the Labour Ministry in Bucharest, protesting against the recent fiscal and
    budgetary measures because of which, they say, thousands of employees on medical leave will lose important
    amounts from their incomes. Also, they called for a renegotiation of the salary
    law, whose provisions have led to situations in which certain public employees
    are being discriminated against. They also want a revision of the pension law,
    so that the teaching staff can retire three years before the standard age.
    Similar protest actions are scheduled for Thursday.










    FLU – 45 people have died from flu this winter,
    according to a report presented on Wednesday by the National Center of
    Infectious Disease Surveillance and Control. The number of infected people
    exceeds 500. Most of them live in the capital and in the counties of Constanta,
    Olt, Brasov and Iasi. Authorities recommend vaccination, and the Ministry of
    Health has announced that there are still some 80,000 shots available. So far,
    920,000 people have been vaccinated against the flu. According to the Health
    Minister Sorina Pintea, at the moment we cannot speak of a flu epidemic in
    Romania.



  • Proposals for a unified pay scale in the public sector

    Proposals for a unified pay scale in the public sector

    The unified pay
    scale bill was endorsed by the Romanian Senate on Tuesday. Next week, the bill
    will be discussed by the specialized committees of the Chamber of Deputies,
    which is the decision-making forum in this mater. The bill provides for
    significant pay rises in the public sector, in stages, until 2022. The bill was
    voted by representatives of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of
    Liberals and Democrats in Romania, which formed the governing coalition after
    the latest parliamentary elections, as well as by the Democratic Union of
    Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

    On the other hand, the bill has been criticized
    by the opposition represented by the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union
    and the People’s Movement Party, who say that the budgetary impact of such a
    decision was not properly assessed, and neither were the funding sources for
    such pay rises. The Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu has stated in plenary
    Senate session that the law is correlated with the new Fiscal Code and provides
    for an average increase of 56%. The minister has also explained that the law is
    needed to correct the disfunctionalitites existing in the system of public
    sector pay.

    Lia Olguta Vasilescu: All
    bill corrections have been made in the Senate. However, we are obviously open
    for further discussions, if need may be.


    In turn, the
    leader of the National Liberal Party Raluca Turcan pointed out:


    The
    bill set forth by the Social Democratic Party is currently supported by two
    people: the labour minister and the leader of the Social Democratic Party Liviu
    Dragnea. The rest, who are probably more responsible, have a problem showing up
    in the public area and taking responsibility for expenditure that Romania
    cannot really cover at the moment.


    300 amendments to
    the bill have been filed, some of them proposed by the opposition, half of
    which have been adopted. Under the new law, as of January 1st 2018,
    salaries in the decentralized services subordinated to the ministries of labour
    and environment will grow by 15%, just like the salaries of the employees of
    the National Integrity Agency, who have access to classified documents and
    intelligence. Upon a proposal made by the National Liberal Party and the
    Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians, another amendment was accepted, under
    which all town and city mayors and deputy mayors will get a 300 Euro raise.

    However, the Bucharest mayor and deputy mayor, as well as the county council
    presidents and vice-presidents will not benefit from this provision. Other
    amendments that have been endorsed provide for a 25% increase in the salaries
    of local officials who implement European projects, an adjustment to the salary
    scheme for public servants with the National Fiscal Authority, who will benefit
    from a scheme similar to the one in the central administration system, and a
    15% bonus for people with severe disabilities.


    In another move,
    also on Tuesday, Romania’s President Klauss Iohannis promulgated the law under
    which military staff will get pay rises too. The new provisions will benefit
    some 46,000 people.