Romania's Government comes up with new law on public wages

Romania’s Government has completed a new draft law on salaries in the public sector, which focuses on correcting the inequalities in the local healthcare system and introduces performance bonuses for the healthcare and education personnel. The project was published yesterday on the website of the National Trade Union Bloc, one of the country’s biggest union organizations. The project will correct certain failures in the public wage system, said the Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos. It has been drafted after long talks with the social partners, he added. The new law aims to correct the inequalities in the healthcare system, but that doesn’t mean that the other sectors are not a priority, Ciolos said. Unions in the education and in the public administration sector criticized the project and even threatened to boycott the local elections that are due to take place on June 5. They are unhappy that the draft law fails to increase the salaries of people working in education or public administration. The budget impact of the new law amounts to EUR 510 million per year. Some EUR 262 million will be allocated to correct inequalities in the public wage system whereas about EUR 228 million will be used for the healthcare reform. The project will not be approved in the Government meeting today. It will remain in public debate and then it will be approved via an emergency ordinance, Ciolos added. Over 1.2 million people are paid from public funds. Some 24% of them work in education, 21% in defense and public order, 17% in local administration, and 13% in the healthcare sector. editor@romania-insider.com