German retailer Kaufland ups minimum wage for employees in Romania, gives extra annual leave day

German hypermarket chain Kaufland, the biggest retailer in Romania, will increase the minimum gross wage of the employees working in its local stores starting March 1, 2017. Kaufland is one of the biggest private employers in Romania, with over 15,000 employees. A commercial worker at Kaufland will get a gross minimum salary of RON 2,000 (some EUR 443), including food vouchers. The wage of senior employees could go up to RON 3,800 (over EUR 840). Moreover, Kaufland Romania will also increase the annual leave to 22 days, from 21 days, thus giving an extra day off to its employees. However, those who had worked for the company a longer period of time could receive additional annual leave days, reaching up to 25 days per year. This represents four more days than the Romanian law requires, according to Kaufland. The company also rewards the employees’ involvement in social causes, granting them up to two paid days off per year for volunteering activities. Kaufland, which is part of German Schwarz Gruppe, has more than 15,000 employees and 110 stores in Romania. It had a turnover of over EUR 2 billion in 2015. The retailer previously implemented salary increases in May this year when the minimum salary in Romania was increased from RON 1,050 to RON 1,250 (EUR 278) by Government decision. Supermarket chain Lidl, which is also owned by the Schwarz Gruppe, has also increased the minimum salary in the company by 30%. In March this year, several multinationals in Romania announced salary increases, including French hypermarket chain Carrefour. Commercial workers in local supermarkets and hypermarkets are paid very low salaries compared to employees working similar jobs in the same groups in Western Europe. Kaufland will open online store in Romania next year Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com