Romanian trade union federation seeks to enforce pension hike in court

Trade union federation Cartel Alfa published a document submitted to the Ombudsman by which it seeks to notify the Constitutional Court (CCR) of the government's decision to cancel the annual indexation of the pensions provided by the Pension Law.

"According to the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, rights established by special laws, including pensions, represent a component of social security that cannot be diminished or ignored through administrative or legislative measures that do not respect proportionality and necessity," the document states, as reported by Newsweek.ro.

The government decided not to endorse a 12% indexation of the pensions as of January 2025.

Cartel Alfa also invokes Art. 47 para. (1) of the Romanian Constitution, which provides that "the State is obliged to take measures for economic development and social protection, such as to ensure a decent standard of living for citizens."

Trade unionists say that by adopting the "Train Ordinance" – as the fiscal corrective package endorsed by the executive in December was dubbed – the state no longer guarantees decent living conditions for pensioners.

"In the absence of periodic indexation with the inflation rate, pensions lose their real value, affecting the ability of beneficiaries to cover their basic needs, such as food, medicine or utilities," the document states.

(Photo source: Chernetskaya/Dreamstime.com)