A number of former employees of the social assistance system demand that Minister of Labor and Social Protection Alexei Buzu should make a public apology for having demeaned them and harmed their honor and dignity. It goes to more than 500 people who were excluded from the social system, as the minister said, due to incompetence and also to integrity-related problems that, according to them, simply do not exist.
In a press conference hosted by IPN, the former head of the Cantemir Social Assistance and Family Protection Division Sergiu Butuc said that two weeks ago, the ex-employees of the social system spoke about the problem of the RESTART reform, namely the fact that it led to the paralysis of the whole social assistance system and the loss of qualified people in the field. Things haven’t changed. On the contrary, they got even worse through the intimidation of former system employees into not speaking out.
Sergiu Butuc also said that got several times the Minister of Labor stated that former heads of divisions and other specialists weren’t reemployed or offered jobs because they didn’t have the necessary skills or because they had integrity-related problems. Thus, all the about 500 former employees who formed the basis for consultations on the reform are no longer good. It’s not at all clear who assessed the skills and integrity of these people.
“I will now also speak on behalf of my former colleagues with whom I discussed, colleagues from Leova, Cimislia, Briceni, Drochia, Soldanesti, Balti, Ialoveni, Floresti and many others. On their behalf I address Minister Buzu. I ask you on behalf of everyone, for demeaning our honor and dignity, to publicly apologize to us. Otherwise, we all reserve the right to go to court to ask for damages and to force you to apologize for demeaning our honor and dignity,” stated Sergiu Butuc.
Svetlana Patraman, former deputy head of the Cantemir Social Assistance and Family Protection Division, said she was shocked by the minister’s reaction at a press conference. “I will quote a sentence of the minister: “At the same time, in the process of reemploying people, their professional capacities, performance and, last but not least, their integrity were evaluated. Unfortunately, there are problems due to which these persons didn’t pass the assessments” – end of quote. Mr. Alexei Buzu, you took the oath as Minister of Labor and Social Protection to ensure the prosperity of the Republic of Moldova in chaos, it seems to me. Because it is the field that respects the human rights first and foremost,” added Svetlana Patraman.
According to her, this first message the minister violated the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova. "When you said their integrity was tarnished. Is your integrity, Mr. Buzu, clean? How can you afford to rule without evidentiary material, without a final act of justice, if such a label is involved? You assume the responsibility to grant us a public meeting to 500 people and to show us that document that shows that we do not have professional capacities in this field or in related fields", requested the former deputy of DASPF Cantemir.
The former head of the Social Assistance and Family Protection Directorate in Ocnita, Iurie Rusu, said that the "RESTART" reform as a concept is a good state act. Not as an achievement. He says that when the reform project was being drafted, the heads of the profile directorates from all districts had several rounds of discussions with the former minister, Marcel Spatari. And then they believed that the beneficiaries would benefit from this reform. Subsequently, the reform began covertly. "Unfortunately, today's leadership of the Ministry has never met with the heads of departments to discuss the "RESTART" reform. We often asked questions, but they told us to be calm," Iurie Rusu regretted the way the authorities acted.
Potrivit ei, prim acest mesaj ministrul a încălcat Constituția Republicii Moldova. „Când ați spus că integritatea lor este pătată. Integritatea dumneavoastră, domnul Buzu, este curată? Cum vă permiteți să vă pronunțați fără un material probatoriu, fără un act final de justiție, dacă este vorba de o astfel de etichetă? Vă asumați răspunderea de a ne acorda o ședință publică la 500 de persoane și să ne arătați acel act care denotă că noi nu avem capacități profesionale în domeniul dat sau în domeniile conexe”, a solicitat fosta adjunctă a DASPF Cantemir.
Fostul șef al Direcției asistență socială și protecție a familiei Ocnița, Iurie Rusu, a declarat că Reforma „RESTART”, ca și concept este un act statal bun. Nu și ca realizare. El spune că, atunci când se elabora proiectul reformei, șefii direcțiilor de profil din toate raioanele au avut mai multe runde de discuții cu fostul ministru, Marcel Spatari. Și atunci considerau că în urma acestei reforme vor avea de câștigat beneficiarii. Ulterior reforma a început pe ascuns. „Cu părere de rău, conducerea de astăzi a Ministerului niciodată nu s-a întâlnit cu șefii de direcții să discute despre reforma „RESTART”. Noi deseori puneam întrebări, dar ne spuneau să fim liniștiți”, a regretat Iurie Rusu modul în care au acționat autoritățile.
Note: IPN Agency offers the right of reply to persons who consider themselves targeted in the news made from the statements of the organizers of this press conference, including by facilitating the organization of another press conference under similar conditions.
