No agreement over new Wage Law for budgetary sector in Romania

The Romanian centrist parties summoned by president Nicusor Dan on August 20 to discuss the new Wage Law for the budgetary sector, a milestone under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), failed to reach an agreement. However, the parties will analyse the latest version of the project, presidential adviser Radu Burnete announced after the meeting, as cited by Hotnews.ro.

Acting minister of European projects and investments, who also serves as interim labour minister, Dragos Pislaru, confirmed that the European Commission insisted on an increase of no more than RON 8 billion for the total public payroll in 2027, compared to RON 166 billion in 2026. An increase of RON 12 billion, as envisaged by the latest version of the law, would be acceptable only if budgetary measures are found to compensate for the difference, he explained.

In essence, the Wage Law aims at setting a new set of coefficients for individual wages in the budgetary sector, and a transparent system of bonuses. But as cutting the incomes of specific categories that earn more than they should (a very politically sensitive topic never touched), the wages that are currently lower than they should (under the new, fair coefficients), must be increased significantly.

Separately, the budgetary constraints, particularly relevant in the context of the public debt exceeding the 60% of GDP threshold, prohibit an excessive rise of the overall payroll, thus preventing the convergence towards the desired system of wages in the budgetary sector.

The ongoing negotiations are complicated by the political parties' avoidance of delicate topics and by the Social Democrats’ rhetoric against acting prime minister Ilie Bolojan.

(Photo source: Presidency.ro)