Young people should be able to work so that retirement age is not increased, trade unions

The young people must be provided with workplaces so that the retirement age is not increased as their salaries would ensure pensions for all those who are unable to work, the deputy head of the National Confederation of Trade Unions of Moldova Petru Chiriac said in the public debates centering on the chapter “Equitable and Sustainable Pension System” of the draft National Development Strategy – Moldova 2020, Info-Prim Neo reports. Petru Chiriac said that he does not approve of all the social protection agreements signed by Moldova with other states. “We must create conditions for our people to work at home. But if this is not possible, they should be able to emigrate legally and contribute money to the country’s budget by working abroad,” he stated. He also said that the situation of the persons working in agriculture should be better analyzed. “I agree that the farmers receive a very low pension, but we do not know their real situation. They own land, but do not pay taxes. They later want to be helped by the state without paying contributions into the budget,” said Petru Chiriac. Minister of Labor, Social Protection and Family Valentina Buliga said the public debates were organized for the purpose of involving civil society in the process of reforming the pension system. “We want society to get involved and put forward ideas how to better reform the system. The illegal payment of salaries must be counteracted so as to stabilize the social insurance and pension system,” said the minister. Valentina Buliga considers that the reform of the pension system is a necessity, while among its main drawbacks are the different age at which the persons retire and the different formulas for calculating the benefits enjoyed by some of the persons. She said effort should be made to increase the people’s trust in the pension system and to motivate them to contribute money to the budget.