Pensioners took to the streets to protest against the pension system reform that was adopted by Parliament in the first reading and to demand a real, not simulated reform. Chairman of the Pensioners Union of Moldova Victor Leanca has told IPN that the Union’s representatives ask to clearly explain where the money needed for raising pensions, as the Government proposed, will be taken from.

“The pensions should be raised. We support the pension system reform, but this should not be simulated and done artificially. Nobody supports the rise in the retirement age. We have a public statement that we will read to the pensioners and will then go with it to the Head of Parliament, Prime Minister and President-elect,” stated Victor Leanca.

He noted they insisted that a representative of the Pensioners Union should be included in the working group set up under the Ministry of Labor, Social Protection and Family to think up the reform, but nobody was invited to discussions and the bill was drafted without taking into account the pensioners’ opinion.

As to the Government’s proposal to equalize the retirement age for men and women to 63, Victor Leanca said the provisions that refer to the retirement age should be discussed first of all. Until then, the problems related to the identification of the necessary resources, improvement of the living standards and others should be gradually dealt with.

The pensioners who came from different districts of the country said they do not agree with the proposed amendments and want a higher pension as they contributed money to the state budget throughout their life. Some of them said they are against the rise in the retirement age a time when there are not enough jobs and the elderly people face employment discrimination.