More than 34,000 pensioners will continue to receive the bonus to pension following the recent indexation. A bill to this effect was passed by Parliament on April 28, IPN reports.

The given category of pensioners after the indexation had a pension higher than 1 500 lei and were thus deprived of the bonus instituted in 2014. Thus, following the indexation, their pension was lower than before it. The Cabinet considered the head of the National House of Social Insurance Maria Borta was to blame for this and dismissed her on April 27. The law provides that the pensioners will get the supplement for April too.

Communist MP Oxana Domenti proposed a bill to institute a basic pension of 200 lei that will be offered to all the pensioners, instead of the bonus. The bill was adopted in the first reading and was to be merged with the Cabinet’s bill for the final reading. But the Cabinet rejected an amendment from the MP’s bill and the simultaneous examination of the documents wasn’t thus possible.

In the April 28 sitting of Parliament, Democratic MP Valentina Stratan, who is the deputy head of the commission on social protection, suggested separating the two bills and adopting only the draft law proposed by the Cabinet so as to solve a current problem.

The Communist MPs opposed and left the assembly hall right before the vote in protest. The quorum was yet present and the Cabinet’s bill was passed. Over 18 million lei will be spent this year on paying the bonus.