Labor minister says minimum wage in Romania will increase to RON 1,750

The minimum wage in Romania will increase to RON 1,750 (EUR 389) once the new law on salaries in the public is adopted, labor minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu said in an interview with Mediafax. The minimum gross wage in Romania increased from RON 1,250 to RON 1,450 (EUR 322) on February 1, 2017. The new law on salaries in the public sector starts from this minimum gross salary of RON 1,750, Vasilescu said. There will be three salary steps, the first one including the salaries between RON 1,750 and RON 4,000, which includes some 60% of the public employees in Romania. In this interval, the wage increases will be higher. The second step includes salaries between RON 4,000 and RON 7,000, for which the increases will be lower, and the third step includes salaries over RON 7,000, which will “almost” be frozen until 2020, the labor minister explained. She also said that the new law on salaries in the public sector will also change the way public officials are paid because there have been many cases in which city hall employees were better paid that the mayors due to different calculation rules. Vasilescu said that the Bucharest mayor will have the same salary as a minister, as the person who holds this office manages two million people. editor@romania-insider.com