Labor Minister: We won't allow the IMF to freeze pensions

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation meets on Friday the representative of the Romanian Labor Ministry. The head of the institution, Marian Sarbu admitted that a possible agreement with the IMF may change all economic and social policies. Still, he said that Romania will not accept the freezing of pensions and that he will also discuss the increase of pensions and salaries, the problem with the unemployment rate and the labor market reforms.

„I hope the Fund will not stand against increasing wages and pensions following the inflation rate”, said Sarbu, adding that the value of one pension point (the basic unit in computing the size of a pension) will increase to 718 RON on April 1 and to 738 RON in October, as the Social Insurance Budget law indicates.

The minimum pension level will also increase from 300 to 350 RON.