Franks: IMF did not impose maternity leave cut as condition for financing

Newsroom 10/12/2010 | 16:21

IMF did not impose the reduction of the maternity leave as a condition for granting financing. This is entirely the decision of the government, said Jeffrey Franks, head of the IMF mission, in an open letter sent to the Romanian NGOs.

Franks in fact replied to an appeal from NGO representatives who asked IMF to reconsider its position regarding this measure.

“I would like to stress the fact that IMF did not impose the cut of the maternal leave as condition for our current financing program. The decision regarding the way expenses are reformed is sovereign and we respect the government’s decision in these situations,” said Franks.

The head of the IMF mission said that the government revised its expense program to increase efficiency, but many of these measures are inefficient because they give resources to more affluent families while not enough help is given to very poor families, “We are strongly supporting the government’s efforts to improve the way in which social assistance is granted so that these gaps are taken into consideration,” said Franks.

The government approved this month an emergency ordinance which regulates the maternity leave and financial aid. Thus, mothers can have two options. Either opt for a two year child leave with an aid between RON 600 and maximum RON 1,200. Or, if they return to work before a year off, mothers will also benefit from a monthly aid of RON 500 by the end of the 24 month period.

However, media sources said the IMF asked the government to cut the maternity leave to just one year and the monthly aid to a sum of RON 600 and RON 1000.

Otilia Haraga