Ministry of Labor and Social Protection hired more than 500 assistants for people with severe disabilities

Chisinau, Aug. 1 /MOLDPRES/- More than 500 assistants who care for people with severe disabilities were employed, for a period of four months, from the money confiscated by the British Government from a Moldovan citizen.

According to the Government Press Service, the seized amount was sufficient for four months' remuneration of personal assistants, but most of the caregivers continue to work throughout the current year thanks to additional funding from the state budget or allocations from the district budgets.

Personal assistance is a specialized social service intended for people with severe disabilities who are totally dependent on a carer. Most often, personal assistants are relatives of people with disabilities – mothers, fathers, siblings, etc. Being busy with their care, they can't go to work, that is, they can't benefit either from remuneration or from the corresponding social package. Their employment as a personal assistant allows them to benefit from an allowance as well as health insurance, pension and other social guarantees.

At the country level, the demand for the employment of personal assistants exceeds the budgetary possibilities. According to the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, more than 5,000 personal assistants are currently employed, paid from the Population Support Fund and local budgets, but another 3,500 are waiting to be employed.

Minister Marcel Spatari emphasized that "the institution has identified resources for hiring another 1,000 personal assistants, until the end of 2022". At the same time, it is expected to increase the remuneration of existing personal assistants from external funding sources.

In September 2021, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection, Marcel Spatari, signed with the ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in the Republic of Moldova a Memorandum of Understanding regarding the return of 458,068 pounds, confiscated from the Moldovan citizen, Luca Filat .

Photo: Government