“The salaries will be paid on time and will be higher. We always work to identity sources for raising them,” Minister of Education, Culture and Research Monica Babuc stated in response to politician Maia Sandu’s assertion that the current government ordered to increase the salaries of teachers of universities, centers of excellence and vocational education institutions, but didn’t allocate money for the raises to be possible, IPN reports.

“The role of politicians is to come up with solutions for the people, not with manipulations and lies. If Ms. Maia Sandu had had at least slight respect for the teachers, she wouldn’t have tried to create such situations based on false information that is disseminated intentionally. All the teachers, including the university ones, will get raised salaries, as it was planned,” stated Monica Babuc. According to her, the law on salaries was passed after the 2019 state budget was adopted and all the amendments aimed at supplementing the necessary funds will be made immediately after the law to rectify the state budget is agreed.

Minister of Finance Ion Chicu also reacted, saying the institutions that work in conditions of financial autonomy will receive the necessary support from the Government. “I have yet to note that we speak about institutions with financial autonomy and the Government’s support will be related exclusively to the state order. Our autonomy for your money cannot exist,” he noted.

The leader of the Party “Action and Solidarity” Maia Sandu announced that she made an inquiry to the Ministry of Finance to find out how things concerning the financing of institutions with university financial autonomy stand.

Earlier this week, primary trade union organizations and the staffs of institutions with university financial autonomy express their concern about the prospects of paying salaries this year and demand to solve the pay-related problems. The Education and Science Trade Union Federation of Moldova made a relevant request to the Government, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research and the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova.

According to the data presented to the Federation by 12 universities and 15 Centers of Excellence and professional-technical education institutions, the budget deficit related to the payment of salaries is of about 120 million lei. The maintenance costs of the given institutions total almost the same sum.