The president of the Bucharest-Ilfov Association of Family Doctors, Sandra Alexiu, sent an ironic message to the governors on Wednesday, after Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu expressed his displeasure with the conditions for which people receive medical leave.
Ironic message to the governors related to the taxation of medical leave – Photo Archive
The government introduced a 10% sick leave surcharge late last year to discourage the phenomenon, and now wants to scrap it. The Prime Minister reported on Tuesday that 274,000 medical leaves were given for back pain and 187,000 leaves for sneezing and colds. Marcel Ciolacu is dissatisfied with the conditions for which medical leaves are given.
In this context, Sandra Alexiu sent him an ironic message advising him to “excluded from the emergency list“medical”any febrile syndrome“.
“I understand that Mr. Prime Minister will amend all the legislation regarding medical leaves and the definition and coding of emergencies, so that those with HDL crises with radicular syndrome (popularly known as “back pain”) or, God forbid, with the flu, will no longer take leaves .
I very seriously recommend excluding from the list of medical-surgical emergencies any febrile syndrome, because it is scientifically proven that repeated movements release energy and any employee with chills is an ecological source. We also fit into green energy and can also save money on sick leave.
This way we will finally be able to give medical leave to healthy people, even 14 days, so, as in the pandemic, that they do not release anything“, the family doctor wrote on the social network.
The decision to tax sick leave by 10% was made after in 2022 were approved “8.1 million medical leaves, for a gainful population of 6 million Romanians“, according to Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu. Last year, 4.3 million medical leaves were approved.
Now, “sickness tax” could be eliminated by an Emergency Ordinance, under pressure from civil society. The decision will also be put to a vote in the Chamber of Deputies, after the senators voted to eliminate the 10% tax.
