Financiarul

Romania’s Constitutional Court (CCR) is debating on Wednesday the notification submitted by the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) on the lack of constitutionality of the law on the state agencies restructuring, of curbing the public spending, support for business environment and observance of the agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission, for which the Executive assumed responsibility in front of the Parliament.

CCR was notified on Sept. 23, deputy leader of PNL parliamentary group in the Chamber of Deputies Eugen Nicolaescu saying that by it liberals want to draw attention upon some “unspeakable abuses” committed by Boc Government that proved “haste and superficiality” when assuming responsibility for the two laws.

The liberal deputy said that as regards the law on re-organization of some public authorities and institutions a provision counter to the Constitution is the one which bans taking both salary and pension from the state.

Eugen Nicolaescu reminded that CCR already ruled on this matter, giving a decision of unconstitutionality. He also identified another possible non-constitutional element, namely the article on the 10-day forced unpaid leave.

In the liberal deputy’s opinion, this provision limits citizens “right to work and to gain a normal income as a result of their work”. The project for which the Government assumed responsibility on Sept. 15 stipulates that the heads of public authorities and institutions are compelled to cut the personnel spending by 15.5 percent monthly average, over Oct. – Dec. 2009, irrespective of the financing means.

According to the law text, the spending should be cut through the application of one of the following measures: a 10-day unpaid leave for employees, irrespective of their status, the reduction of the work programme, a measure combining the first two alternatives and another measure with equivalent effect.

Of the total number of agencies targeted for restructuring (223) 112 are to be maintained, 33 of them being institutions regulated through agreements with the European Union.

The law also stipulates that the holiday bonuses afferent to 2009 are to be paid to the public sector employees till Jan. 31, 2010, irrespective the date when they were asked for. As well, the law allows state employees to take both state pension and wage, under conditions in which the respective pension is lower than the gross average wage.