Labour Minister: I am ready to propose gov't sustainable increase in allowances next week

Minister of Labour Violeta Alexandru announced that she will propose to the Government, next week, to increase allowances of such a manner to be sustainable for the budget.

In this context, the Minister specified promises to double allowances without a financing source are irresponsible.

"We are aware of the decision of the Constitutional Court and we will find a solution. The National Liberal Party (PNL) increased allowances. The issue is not that we do not understand or we are not aware that there is a need. But to double them ... and I need to tell you this, we receive such proposals at the Ministry of Labour, from the PSD (Social Democratic Party), every morning. We have two piles of them. And they are all this kind of proposals, to triple, to double ...Anything that means more. The problem is that the budget needs to cover all of these needs, while to double overnight without saying wherefrom the money, to double, to triple, this would not be a responsible gesture to make. The PM asked me to get ready in this respect. PNL has been suggesting in the past couple of years an increase in the allowance especially because we know it doesn't amount to much. So the allowances will increase. I am ready to go to the government next week with a proposal to increase allowances, but we are going to make it a safe and sustainable proposal," the Minister of Labour told B1 private television channel on Tuesday evening.

She also showed that an answer with respect to pensions and allowances will come very soon after the Ministry of Finance concludes the report on expenditures and revenues after this period marked by the coronavirus pandemic.

Violeta Alexandru explained thus that the Ministry of Finance is the authorized source that can communicate all the possibilities in terms of budget and assured that pensions will be increased.

She also mentioned the country should not be managed with promises and that, if PSD wanted to increase pensions it would have done it immediately.

With respect to the possibility to increase pensions and allowances based on the money from the EU, the Minister explained that these funds cannot be moved around and that they are meant for investments and very clear projects.