The Shor opposition party, which is protesting in Moldova, demanded that the government increase pensions and social benefits in line with the inflation rate, the press service of the political force reports.
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The Shor party has been holding mass anti-government protests in Chisinau since last spring. The demonstrators are outraged by the unprecedented increase in prices for gas, other energy resources and food, as well as high inflation and falling living standards. The protesters accuse the authorities of failing to cope with the crisis, point to a record inflation over the past 20 years, which in September amounted to 33.97% on an annualized basis.
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“The parliamentary faction of the Shor party insists that pensions be indexed from April 1 in accordance with the inflation rate recorded last year, namely by about 30%, and not 15%, as decided by the government and the ruling Action Party and Solidarity (PSD),” a message posted on the party’s website on Thursday says.
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The party emphasized that initially the government and the parliamentary majority insisted on raising pensions by only 14.1%, but changed their minds after a series of protests.
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“But we will continue to insist that pensions be indexed twice as much,” the statement said.
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Moldova is experiencing an energy crisis due to rising energy prices, gas tariffs have increased almost seven times in 2022, and almost four times for electricity. Against the backdrop of a rise in the price of energy resources, debts for utilities are growing among the population. According to experts, gas debts of ordinary consumers in Chisinau have increased seven times since last November. The “Shor” party calls on the authorities of the republic to return the heating costs to the population for three winter months.
