Boss, grab a coffee and sit down, 'cause I've got news that'll make you realize how slick some folks are around here! The High Court of Cassation and Justice just ruled that the pension bonuses for forestry staff weren't eliminated by the famous austerity law, no. 296/2023. I mean, bro, those guys at Romsilva can still take retirement gratuities that reach at least 5 gross salaries, and the state says it's fine. I'm not buying this story - when I retired, I got a diploma and a pretzel. But them, of course, they've got people everywhere.
The news started from the Brașov Court of Appeal, which referred the matter to the Supreme Court because lower courts were contradicting each other. The judges said clearly, ice cold: "art. 46 para. (4) of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 59/2000 was not modified or implicitly repealed by the austerity law." Moreover, GEO no. 156/2024, which staggers payment over 5 years, is a recognition that the right still exists. That's how it goes, cuz: if you've got connections, you find loopholes. Not like us in Berceni, where Mioara argues with the cashier at Lidl over 50 cents.
The decision has major effects on lawsuits filed by former Romsilva employees, including the case of former director Teodor Țigan, who received a retirement bonus of 50,000 euros. Fifty thousand euros, man! With that money, I'd buy the BMW I've been dreaming of for 10 years, but he takes it just like that, on his way out, 'cause he was the boss. The Supreme Court doesn't set the exact amount of the bonuses, but clarifies that the right to the gratuity was not repealed - contradicting the thesis supported by employers and some courts. Nobody's fooling me with that, bro.
In parallel, the Romsilva reform, promoted by Environment Minister Diana Buzoianu, is contested by field practices. For example, the Dolj Forestry Directorate increased by almost 1.7 million lei a reforestation contract with the company Terra Silva SRL, owned by Iulian Ionică Băcioiu. The justification cited is the technical impossibility of changing the contractor, even though the company has a controversial history, including in the case of the National Memory Park in Mărășești, where reforestations failed after two years. I mean, neah, they pour money into troubled firms, while they keep us waiting in lines at counters.
That's how it is in this country, bro: some get 50,000 euros at retirement, others wait for child allowance like it's Christmas. I'm going to explain to Mioara how things stand - she'll surely ask me why I didn't become a forester.
