Employees in healthcare, finance, and the justice system have protested against a new wage law presented by interim labor minister Dragoș Pîslaru and have organized several demonstrations on Wednesday, June 3, across Romania.

Finance

Finance sector trade unionists picketed the Ministry of Finance building in Bucharest until midday on Wednesday to protest the new draft law. In a letter sent to the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Finance, they requested a 50% increase in the proposed salary coefficients for employees of the Ministry of Finance and its subordinate institutions, as well as the adoption of a professional statute for the same groups, according to HotNews.

Specifically, protesters pointed to the RON 4,100 (EUR 780) reference base. They demanded that instead of a fixed value, the reference be mandatorily linked to the gross national minimum wage, along with a transparent and automatic indexation mechanism.

The Wednesday protest was not a single event. This week, employees of the Romanian tax agency working in counties such as Teleorman, Gorj, Olt, Craiova, or Iasi also protested publicly against the law, saying they will face pay cuts if it is adopted.

In continuation of the demonstrations, employees within the Ministry of Finance and ANAF affiliated with the National Federation of Finance Trade Unions have announced that they will not show up at work on Thursday, June 4, to protest against the provisions of the new law. The action will take place nationwide and will involve employees from all counties of the country. The federation, affiliated with the National Alliance of Budget Trade Unions SED LEX, represents approximately 17,900 employees.

Healthcare 

Healthcare employees gathered in Bucharest’s Victoriei Square on Wednesday, in front of the government headquarters, to also voice their opposition to the new draft law. The organizers of the protest, the SANITAS trade union, argued that more than half of the healthcare workers will face diminished or capped incomes under it. Union representatives said that the new law is “inequitable, incomplete, and profoundly unfavorable to employees in the public healthcare and social assistance systems.”

“The reduction of bonuses directly affects the real incomes of those who work in difficult conditions, in shifts, ensuring continuity of services, and under pressure. The proposed compensations do not cover the losses and do not rebalance the financial impact. We cannot accept that people’s incomes are artificially presented as being protected, while the reality shown in payroll records will prove otherwise,” the trade unionists further stated.

Justice

In the justice system, the court clerks’ union expressed dissatisfaction with the current draft law, accusing it of maintaining “a deeply inequitable and discriminatory pay scale” for court clerks and related staff in courts and prosecutors’ offices. Trade unionists claimed that clerks would lose an average of RON 1,500 (EUR 300) if the new law were implemented in its current form. 

The clerks were quick to stage a protest for their cause. On June 2, they blocked court hearings for several hours. They said they will continue protesting throughout the week and will ensure only urgent activities, especially cases involving preventive measures and other situations that cannot be postponed.

Opposition to the salary law came from the highest echelons of the Romanian justice system as well. The same day that the clerks blocked hearings, the Superior Council of Magistracy sent its opinion on the draft public sector pay law to the Ministry of Justice, arguing that the project contains constitutional flaws and requesting that the salaries of judges and prosecutors be regulated through a special law.

Governmental reply 

The new public wage law was designed to cut 87 of the more than 150 bonuses granted by the state to public workers. Interim labor minister Dragos Pîslaru, who inherited and amended the draft law formulated by former labor minister Florin Manole, stated that he would take into account suggestions coming from trade unions before initiating the parliamentary legislative process. However, he specified that the new law cannot solve all the problems accumulated in the budget systems in recent years at once. 

“We correct everything that can be corrected. We analyze all proposals. We try to deliver the best possible version within the available time. But we are not conducting salary negotiations,” the minister stated. Pîslaru reminded that the pay law must be enacted by August 31 in order to fulfill the milestone assumed by Romania through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). The minister also traveled to Brussels to renegotiate the terms that Romania has assumed under the PNRR milestones.

However, the contrast between dignitaries and other public sector workers became evident when Pîslaru calculated his own salary increase under the law during a press conference on May 25. The minister noted that his remuneration is expected to be increased by RON 2,500 (EUR 500) as a result of the new salary system, which means an increase of 22%, according to Antena 3.

“Given the difficult situation of Romanians, the grids for dignitaries have not increased for years. I asked the European Commission whether it is still possible to freeze them. On May 18, the European Commission said that the law must be applied uniformly and at the same time for everyone. I also requested this in writing,” Pîslaru said.

radu@romania-insider.com

(Photo source: Inquam Photos/George Călin)