The Labour Ministry has published for debate the Wage Law for the budgetary sector, a bill backed by all members of the former ruling coalition under an agreement mediated by the Presidency. The bill, already criticised by the trade unions in health and police, aims to set the income policies in the budgetary sector on more transparent and fair grounds, eliminating more than half of the bonuses added over time for various categories of employees. 

Streamlining the pay system in the budgetary sector is a milestone under the RRF/PNRR, with a grant of over EUR 700 million attached.

The endorsement of the law by the end of June would bode well for the functioning of the fragile agreement reached by the members of the ruling coalition for the main priorities set under the RRF/PNRR, the SAFE defence endowment scheme, OECD candidacy, and fiscal consolidation. But the protests promoted by the trade unions, historically controlled by the Social Democrats (PSD), may leave the door open for last-minute complications.

Two major unions in the Police and Health sectors announced that they do not agree with the legislative changes and are threatening to file complaints in Brussels.

The new Wage Law would result in higher wages for roughly half of the employees (while no wage would decrease), with a budgetary impact of RON 8 billion that would increase the public payroll from RON 166 billion this year to RON 174 billion in 2027.

The ratio between the lowest and highest salaries will be 1:8, compared to 1:12 now, and they will be differentiated by a salary coefficient established for each public position, according to the hierarchy in the law.

Basic salaries are calculated by multiplying this coefficient by the Reference Value (VR), which is established annually by the state budget law.

The reference value will increase primarily in relation to GDP growth, but it will not have the same advance, minister Dragoș Pâslaru explained, as quoted by Cursdeguvernare.ro: "Be careful, there is no condition that if your GDP increases by, say, 6%, your salaries must also increase by 6%. But the condition is in the opposite direction."

The National Police Union (SNPPC) announced that it will not agree to any new salary law and will block its implementation by all legal means, "until the current regulatory act, Framework Law no. 153/2017, is fully applied," according to Antena 3 CNN.

iulian@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Ungureanu Vadim/Dreamstime.com)