IMF Asks Romanian Govt To Reduce Maternity Leave To One Yr - Sources

Ruling coalition leaders will convene again on Sunday for technical talks on the maternity leave system, and a final decision will be taken Monday, said Varujan Pambuccian, leader of national minorities' group in the Chamber of Deputies.

Pambuccian said national minorities' representatives proposed Thursday that maternity leave be set at three years and the monthly child-raring benefit be reduced to RON600.

The ruling coalition convened at the Government Thursday for debates on additional maternity leave propositions, after Labor Minister Ioan Botis suggested that maternity leave should be reduced from two years to one year.

Romania's ruling Democratic Liberal Party on Monday decided to uphold the proposition submitted by Botis, whereby the maternity leave should be reduced to one year and child-rearing benefits should return to 85% of the parent's average net income for the previous year, namely, the level in June 2010, before a 15% cut imposed by the Government. Botis said mothers should receive 85% of their average net income, for a one-year period, and be stimulated to return to work with an indemnity of RON500 until the child turns two.

Later Tuesday, Botis presented ruling democrat liberal lawmakers with three alternative measures to his previous proposition regarding maternity leave, according to people close to the matter.

According to the sources, one of the propositions made by Botis sets maternity leave at 12 months and child-rearing benefits at 85% of the parent's salary. The child-rearing allowance will range between RON600 and RON3,400. Also, mothers who return to work after seven months will be granted a RON500 bonus.

The second and the third alternative propositions state that mothers will be granted child-rear benefits for 24 months, but the benefit will be capped at RON1,000 or RON1,500. The bonus offered to mothers who return to work earlier was set at RON100 per month.

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