Algeria freezes examination of relative and anticipated retirement applications

The Algerian government will freeze the examination of relative and anticipated retirement in public administrations and enterprises. This comes as thousands of workers and employees rushed to the National Fund for Retirment to submit their applications. Earlier, a tripartite meeting came up with the decision to ban relative and anticipated retirement.

Echorouk has learnt that Algerian Prime Minister Abdelmalek Sellal gave an instruction to work minister Mohamed Ghazi and the General Director of Public Service Belkacem Bouchemal to temporarily freeze the examination of retired people’s applications. This is due to fears of a possible negative impact on public departments and enterprises financial balance.

The instruction was issued in June 2016. It says that the examination of retirement applications should be postponed in order to determine related measures.

This comes as a large number of workers and employees flows to departments of the National Fund for Retirement every year. They submit applications for anticipated retirement before it is officially banned.

The decision to ban relative and anticipated retirement raised anger among unions which called for maintaining it. 

Workers at the National Enterprise of Industrial Cars (SONACOM) and Sonatrach in the south protested and asked the government to ban the decision.