Although there is a tendency to blame the economic and social situation in Romania exclusively on the conflict in neighboring Ukraine, the causes of the current problems that Romanians have to face are more numerous and go back to the distant past! Lets only remind of the two years of pandemic in which the economy stagnated more than it worked, other obstacles being the extension of the states of emergency or alert once every three months. And of the liberalization of the energy market, considered a hasty decision by some analysts, which had serious negative repercussions, especially on the most disadvantaged citizens. Inflation is breaking new records, and shops and agri-food markets have become, for some people, places for contemplating labels.
Considered one of the silent social strata of Romania, given their impossibility to intervene in any way to correct their material situation after a whole working life, pensioners from the public pension system have nothing to do but accept what the State offers them monthly, which, in many cases, is below the minimum necessary for a decent living. “Pensioners live on their pensions and it seems reasonable that the level of this pension should be adapted to the situation” said recently Romania’s president Klaus Iohannis, who added that it’s totally unfair to make only the pensioners pay the price of some crises.
However, the Romanian Government decided to grant pensioners with cumulated monthly incomes of less than 2,000 lei (about 400 euros) a single aid worth 700 lei (about 140 Euros). This aid will benefit only pensioners residing in the country, not those with a regular residence abroad, the Labor Ministry officials stated. On the other hand, the Senate, as the first notified chamber, adopted a governments emergency ordinance granting meal vouchers to all Romanians with low incomes: namely about 3 million citizens. The vouchers, worth about 50 Euros, will be used only for the purchase of basic food products. The postal distribution of the cards through which the financial aid will be granted will start next week, then the people will receive the promised money on the cards every two months.
If the senators of the ruling coalition welcomed the decision, those in opposition considered the amount as derisory, saying that, through this measure, the executive only gives back to the Romanians too small a part of the money it takes through taxes, prices for utilities, food and fuels. Nevertheless, all the MPs voted in favor of the decision. Finally, the Chamber of Deputies decided to increase the value of a meal ticket for employees from 20 to 30 lei, so as to compensate, at least partially, for the price hikes. The Chamber also agreed that childrens camps in the country may be paid for with the parents holiday vouchers. (LS)
