He said that due to the acute shortage of medical staff, the decree should allow retired doctors to keep working with temporary employment contracts until the vacant positions are filled.
"Considering the acute shortage of medical staff, especially in rural areas, I will propose to allow retired doctors to remain employed until the positions are filled,’ the minister said.
He added the ministry agrees with the government’s decision to ban pensioners hired in the public sector from receiving both pensions and salaries, but is particularly concerned with the lack of staff in the public healthcare system.
The Romanian public healthcare system employs about 338 retired doctors, of which 279 in urban areas and 59 in rural areas. Most doctors working in rural areas are pensioners, the ministry said in a press release Wednesday.
The minister of education, Ecaterina Andronescu, also said, on Tuesday, that the ministry is trying to find solutions for the pensioners in the education sector that are affected by the government decree.
Labor minister Marian Sarbu said Tuesday evening in a TV show that the decree affects people with low incomes, among which actors, teachers and doctors, and although the principle of the decree is good, some elements should probably be reconsidered by sectors of activity.