Romanian PM: Government needs to decide on minimum wage by end-2015

The Government needs to make a decision on the minimum wage until the end of the year, no matter what the agreement will be, said Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. The former Government announced that it would raise the minimum gross wage from RON 1,050 to RON 1,200 (EUR 266), starting January 1, 2016, but the new executive said that it would not apply the measure without proper studies on the topic. Representatives of the Labor and Finance Ministries will meet with members of the unions and employers’ representatives on Friday and will have an informal talk on the minimum wage, Ciolos said. The Prime Minister said that the increase in the minimum wage would have a minimal impact on the state budget, after already having increased salaries in the public administration by 10%. However, certain economic sectors could be directly affected by the minimum wage growth. The increase in the minimum wage would mostly affect the insolvent companies in Romania, as well as the local textile and furniture industry, where most of the workers are paid the minimum wage, according to a preliminary analysis of the Government, official sources told Profit.ro. editor@romania-insider.com