Employees in the education system will receive their salaries on time, promised the Minister of Education and Research. According to Dan Perciun, "The money is there, but it needs to be reallocated from categories where savings have been made, such as energy, utilities, and food, to salaries", IPN reports.
The minister stated that there are no salary arrears in the capital city currently, nor will there be in the coming months. He labeled the public discussions on this matter as "speculations and false information spread by representatives of the city hall".
During a press conference, Minister Dan Perciun explained that, for instance, this year, the City Hall budgeted 384 million MDL for energy and utility expenses, but by November, only 220 million MDL had been spent, leaving 164 million MDL unspent. These funds, he argued, could be redirected toward salaries. "This is a deliberately malicious action aimed at artificially creating a crisis in Chisinau", he asserted.
"The total budget for education in the capital is 4.14 billion MDL, of which 85% comes from the state budget, allocated by the government to fund education. The City Hall planned to contribute 15%, or 62 million MDL, for certain expenses," Perciun clarified.
The minister further explained that as of november 16, 80% of the total resources had been spent, leaving 20% available to be used within a month, until the end of the year. One month accounts for approximately 8.3% of the total budget. The City Hall independently decides how much of this budget is allocated to salaries or communal services. However, 94% of the City Hall's allocated budget for salaries had already been spent by November 16, meaning additional resources are needed for december.
Perciun pointed out that, as of the same date, only 220 million MDL out of the 380 million allocated for energy and utilities had been used, leaving 160 million MDL available in this category. Allocating these funds is at the discretion of the City Hall, as is reallocating them. Similar situations exist in the food expense category, where 90 million MDL remains unused, and other services where execution rates exceed 60%. According to the ministry’s calculations, 338 million MDL in unutilized funds could be redirected to teachers' salaries.
A meeting was held between the Ministry of Finance and representatives of the City Hall to address the issue, and the discussions were constructive, said Perciun. Another meeting is scheduled for Friday, by which time the City Hall must assess which resources can be reallocated from other expense categories to cover teachers’ salaries. On thursday, discussions are planned with unions and school and kindergarten directors. The minister called for responsibility, calm, and openness to make the reallocations necessary to resolve the salary issue.
Previously, Chisinau City Hall warned that nearly 7,000 employees from 167 educational institutions risk not receiving their December salaries or annual bonuses. This could lead to discontent and protests among teachers. The situation arose due to insufficient targeted transfers from the state budget, which covered only 36.9 million MDL, leaving a shortfall of 164 million MDL compared to the actual need.
