Radio România Internațional

Tag: public sector

  • January 24, 2025 UPDATE

    January 24, 2025 UPDATE

     

    PROTEST Railway workers, reserve officers, police staff, miners, foresters, steelworkers, Bucharest Metro employees and pensioners Friday took part in a protest rally in front of the Government headquarters. People are unhappy with the government order that froze salary increases for many public sector personnel at the beginning of this year, and because public pensions are no longer adjusted to the inflation rate. According to Radio Romania, a trade union delegation had talks with government officials, but without results. A reorganisation of central public institutions and state-owned companies was also announced these days. According to PM Marcel Ciolacu, restructuring the public sector is a priority for the current governing coalition comprising the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania.

  • Restructuring plans spark protests

    Restructuring plans spark protests

     

    A huge deficit and a European Commission hanging over the government like a sword of Damocles, insisting that Bucharest take measures to reduce it, are prompting the Romanian coalition government to take very unpopular decisions already.

     

    After many public sector employees saw their inflation adjustments and salary increases frozen under a government order at the beginning of 2025, and after public pensions were no longer adjusted to the inflation rate, as previously promised, these days the news came of a reorganisation of central public institutions and state-owned companies.

     

    On Wednesday, the Parliament leaders announced that the number of civil servants would be reduced by approximately 400, which led to a spontaneous protest of Parliament staff in the halls of the institution. The Liberal Ilie Bolojan, speaker of the Senate, announced that about 180 civil servant posts out of a total of nearly 800 will be slashed in that chamber, and the car fleet or fuel quota will be cut down. Ilie Bolojan:

     

    Ilie Bolojan: “Instead of 796 positions in all at present, we will have around 618 positions. The colleagues who will leave will not be dismissed by anyone. Where the number of executive positions will be cut down, under the law, competitions will be organised. I guarantee that there will be no political influence whatsoever.”

     

    In the Chamber of Deputies as well, over 200 posts out of a roughly 1,100 will be cut, said the Social Democratic speaker of the Chamber, Ciprian Şerban.

     

    Save Romania Union has asked the leaders of the governing coalition comprising the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania to make public all the measures to reduce government spending, as well as the personnel selection criteria, “to ensure that the people who are kept on are competent, and not just party followers.”

     

    In turn, several trade union federations have voiced support for the Parliament employees in danger of losing their jobs. The National Federation of Public Administration Trade Unions sees the way in which the restructuring measures are taken and communicated as abusive and non-transparent, while the leaders of the Union of Parliamentary Civil Servants and the Union of Contracted Personnel claim that the reorganisation lacks fairness.

     

    Romanians have mixed feelings about the move. While some applaud the measures, others are against them, arguing that the reduction in the number of positions in Parliament should start with the senators and deputies themselves, based on a 2009 referendum on the transition to a single-chamber parliament of 300 seats.

     

    In the last 4 years, the number of public sector employees has increased by 56,000, claim those who support the government’s actions. In contrast, others argue that public sector employees include, for example, employees in education, healthcare, the army and the police, sectors which have been complaining about staff shortages for years. (AMP)

     

  • May 22, 2024 UPDATE

    May 22, 2024 UPDATE

     

    PAY RAISE The government of Romania intends to raise the salaries of some categories of public sector employees by 10% this year, in 2 equal installments. A draft order in this respect has been put up for debate by the Labour Ministry. Some of the employees targeted by the measure have recently organised protests, but Prime Minister Ciolacu explained on Tuesday that the budget did not allow for more pay raises. The draft order concerns the employees of various cultural institutions, of the trade registry offices, diplomatic staff, defence personnel, town hall staff and employees of other institutions funded from the government’s and Parliament’s own sources.

     

    SECURITY President Klaus Iohannis said on Wednesday that there is no direct threat against Romania and “no sign or indication” of any attacks or other “undesired events” targeting Romania. “Of the information I have, I can tell you that Romania is a safe country. Romanians have no reason to fear, but obviously we must always be ready for unexpected occurrences,” he explained. According to Iohannis, Romania, thanks to its NATO membership, benefits today from the most important security guarantees in its history. “It is very, very important for us to understand that we are not alone, we are together with our Allies and we can handle any situation quite well,” Klaus Iohannis pointed out.

     

    BSDA The Romanian Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu Wednesday said there are good prospects for the Romanian defence industry to conclude impressive contracts worth billions of euros. Attending the international exhibition “Black Sea Defense and Aerospace” in Bucharest, the PM said this is the biggest event devoted to the defence industry in the Black Sea region. The presence of 400 companies from 31 countries proves the importance of this event, Ciolacu went on to say. All the five operational fields (land, air, naval, cyber and space) are being represented, and the event’s main attraction is the multi-role F-35 jet fighter that the US Navy has for the first time brought to an exhibition in Europe. The event is aimed to identify opportunities and find production and business cooperation solutions contributing to the promotion of Romania’s defence industry worldwide.

     

    BACCALAUREATE In Romania, the high school graduates who were part of Olympiad teams and international arts or sports competitions Wednesday stood the compulsory speciality test in a special Baccalaureate session. The exam started on Tuesday with the Romanian language and literature test, with the alternate speciality test scheduled for Thursday and the native language and literature test on Friday. Students’ digital and linguistic skills will be tested in the following days, and the final results will be announced on June 4.

     

    FESTIVAL The International Theatre Festival ‘Shakespeare’ continues in Craiova, south-western Romania with a new series of theatre shows, multi-media installations, outdoor film screenings, book launches and round table talks.  ‘Macbeth’, produced by the Chisinau-based Teatrul Fără Nume company in the Republic of Moldova, and the ‘Twelfth Night’ directed by Andrei Serban at the State Theatre in Constanta were the festival’s main events on Wednesday. Shakespeare village, a British village from the 1600s built from scratch on the local hippodrome, is the venue for scores of concerts and shows, while the Craiova Promenade is hosting the Shakespeare Dimension cube, providing a virtual immersion into the Shakespearian world. At its 30th edition this year, the international event consists of 300 shows and events bringing together some of the world’s most famous directors and actors, such as Robert Wilson, Declan Donnellan, Peter Brook or Robert Lepage. (AMP)

  • October 20, 2018 UPDATE

    October 20, 2018 UPDATE

    JUSTICE – Romanias president Klaus Iohannis intends to summon all political parties represented in Parliament for talks on the justice laws, following Fridays report of the Venice Commission on the changes brought to these laws in Romania. The Venice Commission, an advisory body of the Council of Europe, composed of independent experts in the field of constitutional law, believes that the changes brought to the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Proceeding and the justice laws will weaken the fight against corruption and organized crime. The Commission recommends large-scale public consultations, aimed at achieving a solid and coherent legislative change, supported by citizens and in compliance with the rulings of the Constitutional Court. Following the critical opinion of the Venice Commission, president Klaus Iohannis has stated that the Justice Minister Tudorel Toader, himself a member of the Commission, has definitely compromised his credibility and should resign.



    MEASURES – The Romanian Government is considering freezing salaries in the public sector in 2019. A letter sent this week by the Finance Ministry to Brussels reads that this is one of the measures envisaged for next year, for Romania to observe the deficit target of 2.58% of the GDP and subsequently to correct the deviation from the medium term objectives by reducing the structured balance which will exceed 3% of the GDP this year. According to the document posted on the European Commissions website, the Romanian Government intends to maintain the value of holiday tickets to approximately 300 Euro, and also the number of employees in the public sector.



    VISIT – Kuwait is the last leg of the Romanian Prime Minister Viorica Dancilas Near East tour. She has visited the cultural center Abdullah Al Salem, one of the largest cultural compounds in the world, the Scientific Center and the Grand Mosque in the capital. On the occasion, the Romanian PM highlighted the possibility of developing bilateral ties in research and innovation. Also, she appreciated the openness of the Kuwait authorities towards religious minorities and the efforts made to integrate them. Viorica Dancila also stressed the fact that the Muslim community in Romania had lived in peace alongside Christian and other ethnic groups. Previously, in the United Arab Emirates, Ms. Dancila had meeting with business people and officials, whom she encouraged to come and invest in Romania.



    INTERCEPTION – The Romanian Defense Minister Mihai Fifor stated on Saturday, in relation to the Russian place intercepted near the Romanian air space, that there was no reason of concern. Such events are not isolated, and they test the reaction speed of the NATO forces, the minister also said. He also stressed the fact that Romania, as a member of NATO, was ready to fulfill its mission at any time. On Thursday, a Russian military aircraft, flying near the Romanian air space, was intercepted by Canadian fighters, in collaboration with the Romanian Air Forces. As soon as the Russian plane was detected by the Command and Control Center of the Romanian Air Forces, Canadian Hornet fighters were sent on mission. They watched the Russian plane from a short distance, until the latter left the area.



    US – The Romanian Secretary of State for bilateral and strategic relations in the Euro-Atlantic space, George Ciamba, has had meetings in Washington with US officials. During these meetings he stressed that the Romanian presidency of the EU Council will focus on strengthening the partnership between the EU and the US, according to a communiqué issued on Saturday. Romania will hold the rotating presidency of the EU Council in the first half of next year. In the US, George Ciamba held talks with Wess Mitchell, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs. During the talks, the Romanian official stressed that Romania will continue to be a committed ally to the US.



    PROCESSION – On Sunday in Bucharest, thousands of Roman and Greek Catholic believers and priests will take parte in a procession with relic and icon of Pope John Paul II. The relic consists in several drops of the Popes blood, a gift to the Saint Joseph Cathedral in Bucharest from Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the former personal secretary of the Pope, currently Archbishop Emeritus of Krakow. Born on May 18th, 1920 in Wadowice, Poland, Karol Wojtyla was elected pope in October 1978 and died on April 2nd, 2005, at the Vatican. Pope Francis declared him a saint in April 2014, so John Paul II was included in the calendar of the Catholic Church, and his liturgical commemoration was set for October 22nd of each year. In 1999, Pope John Paul II came to Romania, on the first visit to a predominantly orthodox country by a head of the Catholic Church.



    FESTIVAL – Bucharest is hosting the 28th National Theater Festival. For 11 days, theater lovers have the opportunity to participate in some 100 artistic events: shows, performances, exhibitions, book launches and meetings with special guests. The director of the festival, Marina Constantinescu, has stated that the money collected during the festival will be donated to the Daruieste viata (Give Life) Association, for the building of the first hospital of pediatric oncology and radiotherapy in Romania. Bucharest is also playing host to the event titled Cannes Films in Bucharest, an opportunity for film goers to watch films awarded at the prestigious festival, but also films signed by Romanian directors.



    INVICTUS – The Romanians who are participating in Sydney in the Invictus Games, the international adaptive multi-sport event, in which wounded, injured or sick armed services personnel and their associated veterans take part, will start on Sunday the team competitions, said on Radio Romania Colonel Augustin Pegulescu, himself an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran. The Romanian team is made up of 15 wounded soldiers, most of them participating for the second time in the Invictus Games. More than 500 soldiers from across the world have come to Sydeny to take part in the games, created by Prince Harry four years ago.


  • The pros and cons of the unitary pay law

    The pros and cons of the unitary pay law

    The unitary pay law, which came into force in 2017, providing an increase in monthly incomes in the coming five years, started showing effects in January 1st this year. These effects however have triggered controversies and protests among employees in several fields of the public sector. When the law was promulgated, in June last year, the head of state Klaus Iohannis argued that sustainable salary increases were necessary, in order to improve peoples living standards and to do away with inequities and income gaps.



    On Tuesday, President Iohannis invited the Prime Minister Viorica Dancila and the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu for talks on the effects of the new law in the first quarter of the year, in relation to the principles and commitments assumed by the ruling coalition, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The President warned that, against the background of reckless fiscal-budgetary policies, incongruous with the overall dynamics of Romanian economy, people run the risk of seeing further drops in purchasing power.



    In response to that, Prime Minister Viorica Dancila talked about the economic growth and the good results registered last year, which have improved living standards. She recalled that the average gross salary went up by 14%, and pensions grew by 18% as compared to the previous year. Here is Prime Minister Viorica Dancila:



    Viorica Dancila: “Personnel expenditure has grown by 19%. This means that salaries in the public sector have grown by 19% as compared to 2017, which in turn means that 1.2 million families now have bigger incomes. Official statistics show that the purchasing power in Romania went up by 12.7% in 2017, in terms of salaries, and by 10.3% relative to pensions.



    In turn, the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu stressed that the new salary scheme will start showing its full effects as of 2022. On the other hand, though, the president of the National Liberal Party Ludovic Orban says that from the very beginning the Liberals raised an alarm signal as to the fiscal chaos created by the new salary law.



    Ludovic Orban: “This law runs counter to the very principles that were presented as arguments in favour of the new law. The law has been by no means unitary; quite the opposite. One proof that the law is bad is that the government had to change it several times, by means of emergency ordinances and amendments to emergency ordinances.



    Orban has also stated that, in fact, the unitary pay law has seriously discriminated against several categories of public sector employees, and mentioned the example of the public healthcare, where doctors salaries have been increased, but that has not happened for the other categories of staff in the system.


    (translated by: Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • October 6, 2017 UPDATE

    October 6, 2017 UPDATE

    UNIONS – Trade unions Friday failed to reach an agreement with the Government in Bucharest over demands to give up the planned transfer of social security payment obligations from employers to employees. The head of the Cartel Alfa trade union confederation, Bogdan Hossu, said the Government was not interested in finding another solution and insisted instead on keeping this measure in place, which, Hossu argued, would lead to a fall in salaries. Taking part in the talks were also the trade unions in the healthcare sector, which demand, among other things, changes in the law on public sector salaries and the reintroduction of meal vouchers as of January 1.



    NATO – Romania will remain a responsible and active member of the North-Atlantic Alliance, the Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Meleşcanu said on Friday during a meeting with the head of NATOs Parliamentary Assembly, Paolo Alli. Romania is one of the most important partners of NATO and Euro-Atlantic security, Alli said on the other hand, at the opening conference of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly meeting held for 4 days in Bucharest. Not only has Romania managed to invest 2% of its GDP into defence, but it also contributes to the missions in Afghanistan and Kosovo, and has implemented ballistic missile defence systems, the NATO official mentioned. Taking part in the 63rd annual meeting of the NATO PA are more than 50 delegations from NATO member or partner countries. The main topics approached are the Alliances operations in Afghanistan, the NATO — EU relations, security at the Black Sea, the situation in East Asia and the humanitarian crisis in Syria and Iraq.



    SPAIN – The Government of Spain Friday asked Catalonia to dissolve its parliament and to hold regional elections in order to overcome the crisis dividing the country. Previously, the Catalan Foreign Minister, Raul Romeva, had said the Parliament of Catalonia would convene on Monday to decide on the unilateral proclamation of the regions independence. On Thursday the Constitutional Court of Spain suspended a session of the regional legislative body. Meanwhile on Thursday the PM of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, said the only solution to resolve the conflict was for Catalonia to give up its plan to declare its independence, and return to what he called “legality. In turn, the European Commission senior vice-president Frans Timmermans called for dialogue and reiterated that the dispute was a matter of Spanish domestic politics.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • May 23, 2017 UPDATE

    May 23, 2017 UPDATE

    MANCHESTER ATTACK – A suicide bomber is the perpetrator of Monday nights terrorist attack on Manchester Arena at the end of a concert, the British PM Theresa May announced on Tuesday. The attack, claimed by the IS terror group, killed 22 people and wounded some 60 others, some of whom are in a serious condition. Many of the victims are children. The presumed attacker was identified as Salman Abedi, 22, Reuters reports, quoting several American officials. Born in Manchester, he was the son on Libyan refugees who had come to Britain to escape the Gaddafi regime. Security was tightened in Manchester and in the British capital, London. The Conservative PM Theresa May and the Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn suspended their campaigns for the early parliamentary elections of June 8. This is the worst attack in Britain since the one in London on July 7, 2005, when 52 people died and nearly 700 were wounded. Two months ago, a radical Islamist rammed a vehicle into pedestrians on Westminster Bridge, killing 5 people, including a Romanian. Bucharest joined the international community in condemning Mondays attack, and expressed solidarity with the British people. According to the authorities, there are no Romanians among the victims.




    SALARIES – On Tuesday the Romanian Senate passed the unified pay scale bill, which is supposed to raise salaries gradually for state employees until 2022. The Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu told Senators that the bill was correlated with the new Fiscal Code, and that it would provide a 56% average salary increase. The minister explained that the law was necessary in order to fix a dysfunctional public wage system. The bill goes next to the Chamber of Deputies, the lower chamber. Public administration trade unions expressed their dissatisfaction at the bill, and announced widespread protests next week across the country, including the capital. Union leaders said they expect 120,000 to take part.




    BY-ELECTIONS – In Romania, in 49 localities in 32 counties, local by-elections will be held on June 11, for mayor posts, given that some of the incumbent officials were elected into Parliament in December 2016, and others were sentenced for various offences and can no longer act as mayors. The election campaign begins on May 27 and ends on June 10. Eligible voters in the local elections are only those citizens who live or reside in the respective constituency.




    ECONOMY – The Romanian economic model within the EU was a topic for debate at a conference held at the Parliament Palace in Bucharest by the Association for Economic and Social Studies and Forecasts. Representatives of the government, business people, academics, and civil society activists presented their perspective for the next 10 years with regard to standards of living, education and workforce. According to the latest statistics, Romania has the highest economic growth in the Union. At the same time, the EC has warned Bucharest on the risk of overstepping the stated budget on medium term.




    INVESTIGATION – The former Social Democratic Party chairman Mircea Geoana, defeated in the presidential elections in 2009, and his campaign manager, former Social Democratic MP Viorel Hrebenciuc, were heard on Tuesday by the Parliament committee investigating the elections of 2009. After the hearings, Geoana said there had been a deliberate and coordinated effort at top level to influence the outcome of the 2009 election. In turn, Viorel Hrebenciuc said there had been problems with the polling stations abroad and that he suspected the election had been rigged. On Monday, the committee heard the vice-president of the Permanent Election Authority, Marian Muhulet, and the controversial journalist Dan Andronic, whose allegations led to the creation of the committee. The latter said he has no further information beyond what he had published, and no evidence that the 2009 elections had been tampered with. Andronic used to be a political adviser to former president Traian Basescu, who won the 2009 election. Andronic claimed that, on the night of the second round of elections in 2009, he met in an informal setting with the Prosecutor General Laura Codruta Kovesi, the former director of intelligence George Maior and his first deputy, Florian Coldea, and that the meeting looked like the gathering of a crisis committee. He further claimed that all the people mentioned risked being fired in case Geoana won the elections.




    OO7 – The famous British actor Roger Moore, 89, died on Tuesday in Switzerland after a brief battle with cancer, The Telegraph reports. He shot to fame with his part as agent 007 in several films in the James Bond franchise, between 1973 and 1985. Roger Moore played more than 91 parts in film and television productions, and devoted much of his time to humanitarian work.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Unified pay scale bill, in the Senate

    Unified pay scale bill, in the Senate

    The unified pay scale bill has taken a procedural step forward, and has reached the Senate of Romania. On Thursday, the draft passed by the leftist Government was endorsed by the Senates labour committee, but not without significant amendments. They provide for a 15% raise, as of January 1, 2018, of salaries in the decentralized agencies subordinated to the Environment Ministry, as well as of the salaries of the National Integrity Agency staff, who have access to classified documents and information.



    As proposed by the National Liberal Party and by the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians in Romania, in Opposition, another amendment was endorsed, which gives a roughly 300 euro pay increase to all town mayors and deputy mayors. This increase however is not to apply to the Bucharest mayor general and deputy mayor general, or to the chairs and deputy chairs of county councils.



    Also in the Opposition, Senator Florina Presaga, from the Save Romania Union, the only member of the Senates labour committee to have voted against the bill, dismissed that amendment as “a competition between political parties in increasing the salaries of local administration chiefs. According to commentators, central government leaders thus try to secure the loyalty of local bigwigs, their most efficient vote collectors in the presidential and parliamentary elections.



    The Social Democratic Labour Minister Olguta Vasilescu thanked the Opposition Senators for their amendments, which, she said, were “very good and intended to improve the bill. She had previously stated that changes were necessary, because the current legislation had generated many inequities in the public sector and triggered, among other things, the massive migration of Romanian doctors abroad.



    The new bill provides for an average 56% increase of public sector salaries, with substantial raises, of more than 100%, for lower-level positions, and with smaller raises towards the top of the salary pyramid. The Liberals say they agree that a new salary law is necessary, but argue that the leftist Governments bill will trigger salary cuts, by no means negligible, for some categories of public sector employees, which in fact comes against the Constitution and may trigger a large number of lawsuits.



    Although they have seen their sway lessen steadily in recent years, as the number of paying members has dropped, the leaders of the main trade union federations were invited last week to talks with the labour committee. Some of them warned that some articles in the new law would lead to pay cuts, while others were simply against the Constitution.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • Pay Rises and Elections

    Pay Rises and Elections

    If Romania has registered the highest economic growth rate in the whole of the EU, why are you against pay rises? This is how some of the politicians in Bucharest have attacked the Government, which opposes some of the questionable decisions made by Parliament lately, in the run up to the December 11th elections.



    It has actually become quite a habit before elections for political figures to resort to various ways of buying votes. In the first years after the Revolution, they would hand out flour, sunflower oil, buckets or aprons, but, gradually, such useful commodities were replaced by legislative initiatives aimed at securing more votes for those who needed them.



    Early this week, the joint budget and labour committees of the Romanian Chamber of Deputies endorsed a 15% raise in salaries in public education as of January 1st, 2017, and a similar one, as of December this year, for salaries in the healthcare sector. Also, they decided that bonuses for the administrative staff in public healthcare be calculated based on the salary level in 2016, not in 2009 as it was the case before. Also, staff with the health insurance agencies will have their salaries raised by 25%.



    On Monday, the Chamber is to vote on these measures, and the Labour Minister Dragos Pislaru warns that such pay rises might affect the economy. He has stated that a government order has already regulated a 15% pay raise for employees in the education and healthcare sectors, plus a further 15% increase at a later time. He argues however that such raises should take place gradually by 2021.



    Dragos Pislaru: “In any normal country, payroll expenses must not exceed a certain percentage of the budget, because when you invest in salaries rather than in infrastructure, when you practically ignore any warning, you must accept that this could raise the suspicion – which this time I believe is well grounded – that its just electoral bait. This summer we came up with a plan: to increase the entire payroll in the public sector by 2021, by 30% on average.



    The Economy Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Costin Borc has said that if the salary bill, as it is today, is endorsed by Parliament, the Government will take it to the Constitutional Court. According to the Executive, the impact on the budget of the laws voted by Parliament in the past months stands at some 2 billion Euros. This will either increase the deficit or decrease the amounts of money allotted for investment. Moreover, the gaps between the salaries of various categories of public sector employees would widen.



    From an economic standpoint, Romania is in a good situation. What would be the point then in destroying it in order to just win several extra votes? Increasing salaries in the education and healthcare sectors once again might throw Romania back to the 2008 election year, when Parliament offered pay raises only to subsequently cut salaries twice as much because of the economic crisis.


    (translated by: Mihaela Ignatescu)

  • August 1 – 7

    August 1 – 7

    Queen Anne of Romania dies at 92


    On August the 1st Anne, wife to King Michael I of Romania, died in a hospital in Switzerland, at the age of 92. Had the Romanian society not experienced the tragedy of Sovietisation in 1948, her wedding with the Romanian sovereign would have taken place in Bucharest and would have been joyfully celebrated by the entire Romanian nation. Because of the Kings forced abdication and subsequent exile however, the wedding was held in Greece. Of their nearly 70-year long life together, King Michael and Queen Anne spent more than 40 away from Romania, where they only returned—not without difficulty—after the 1989 anti-communist Revolution. Historian Adrian Niculescu gave us more details:



    Adrian Niculescu: “The role of Queen Anne was that of the wife of a king in exile, of sharing his destiny, and first and foremost of giving him a family. While playing an institutional role, she was primarily a person of vital importance in supporting King Michael I.



    On Tuesday, August 9, Queen Annes body will be repatriated from Switzerland. The Queen will be buried in Curtea de Arges, the final resting place of Romanian royalty, on August 13, which is a day of national mourning. Romanians regret the death of Queen Anne, the longest-living Queen in the history of Romania. She was one of the most important symbols of wisdom, dignity, and a moral role model, said President Klaus Iohannis. In turn, PM Dacian Ciolos said the Queen remains a symbol of graciousness, discretion and dignity. Condolence messages also came from Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, political leaders and other public figures.



    New social measures target public sector staff


    The salaries of more than 650,000 Romanian public sector employees were raised on August 1 by 10%, under a Government emergency ordinance aimed at eliminating inequities in the system. Healthcare, teaching, public administration and defence personnel will be getting higher pay, depending on seniority and speciality, and other bonuses will add to their basic wages. Also on August 1, new regulations took effect, concerning the level of child-rearing benefits. The minimum threshold for these benefits is nearly 250 euros, and the ceiling has been eliminated. Taking advantage of these benefits will be those parents who have made taxable revenues for at least 12 months during the past two years. The benefits account for 85% of the average net revenues of those 12 months.



    Romanian carriers threaten to protest


    Romanian carriers threaten to stage nation-wide protests in mid-September, unless the issue of tariffs for the compulsory car insurance policy is solved. This week they have requested that the Government should freeze policy prices at last years levels. Here is Constantin Isac, vice-president of the National Union of Road Carriers:



    Constantin Isac: “Promises have been made, months have passed, and what do we see? The average price increase compared to June last year was 80%, with peaks reaching as much as 300 or even 500%. As everybody knows, for lorries, 12-15 months ago the compulsory car insurance policy was roughly 1,000 euros. The offers we are receiving from insurers these days amount to 5,000 euros. And this difference should be covered by an increase in our fees. However, for the time being the market cannot support this fee rise, so basically Romanian carriers are pushed out of the market.



    A new round of negotiations with the Government is scheduled in two weeks time.




    Ambulance, fire, SMURD call centres to be merged


    The head of the Romanian Emergency Department, dr. Raed Arafat, announced on Thursday that authorities were working to set up a common dispatch centre for ambulance, fire and emergency resuscitation and extrication services, as well as to create a registry of the NGOs able to provide assistance in case of incidents with multiple victims. Raed Arafat also mentioned that the owners of buildings that do not have fire safety permits have to get them by the end of the year at the latest. Until they obtain the required documents, the investment beneficiaries are fully and exclusively liable for all risks. As of January 1, 2017, sanctions for the buildings used without a fire safety permit will range from 4,500 to 11,000 euros. These measures were taken after last autumns fire at the Colectiv nightclub, which killed tens of people.



    Healthcare Ministry checks blood transfusion centres


    The Romanian Healthcare Ministry has identified 142 unauthorised blood transfusion centres in the country, most of them operating in public hospitals. According to a news release issued by the Ministry, the causes will be analysed in the forthcoming period, and conformity programmes will be put together. Unless the problems are solved by November 1, the respective centres will no longer receive blood from the National Haematology Institute. A woman died and another one was in a critical condition recently because of faulty transfusion procedures in such units.



    31st Olympics start in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil


    More than 100 athletes represent Romania, between August 5 and 21, in the 31st edition of the Summer Olympic Games, held in Rio de Janeiro, the first South-American city to host such an event. A total of 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries will compete for Olympic medals. For the first time in history, Kosovo and South Sudan are taking part in the competition. Another novelty is that a refugee team is competing under the Olympic colours. The Games are not free from problems and controversies in Brazil as well as internationally. On the one hand, the South-American host state is struggling with substantial political, financial and economic problems. On the other hand, the Games start after the largest doping scandal in history. And Zika, the virus spread mostly by the bite of infected mosquitoes, is another problem looming over the current edition of the Olympic Games.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • June 8, 2016 UPDATE

    June 8, 2016 UPDATE

    Official visit – The Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Ciolos, will be on an official visit to France on Thursday and Friday. According to a Government news release, on Thursday the Romanian PM will address the Council of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. On Friday Ciolos is to meet his French counterpart, Manuel Valls, and sign an updated roadmap for the Romanian-French strategic partnership, and he will also be received by the President of France François Hollande. Ciolos and Hollande will attend together on Friday night in Paris the football match between France and Romania, which opens the 2016 European Championship.




    Parliament – The Chamber of Deputies Wednesday endorsed a simple motion against the Agriculture Minister Achim Irimescu tabled by the leftist Social Democratic Party and the right-of-centre Alliance of Liberals and Democrats. The Deputies made this decision with 189 votes in favour and 11 against, while 89 MPs abstained from voting. According to the authors, the document penalises, among other things, the failure to pay farmers subsidies and to use EU funds and the flawed management of the Ministry and the subordinated units. The motion was discussed in the Chamber of Deputies 3 weeks ago, in the presence of Minister Irimescu, who said he had nothing to feel guilty about.





    Salaries – The Government of Romania Wednesday passed a draft bill on salaries in the public sector for 2016. The bill is designed to address dysfunctions and inequities in the system, by introducing a bonus system based on performance criteria and working on the principle of equal pay for equal jobs and seniority. The Labour Minister, Dragoş Pîslaru, said that 50% of the benefits in the new system will be available as of August, and the entire system will be applicable starting the end of 2017. The draft bill will be submitted to Parliament for discussion and approval, and the law is to take effect in September.





    Medal – The Romanian National Anti-Corruption Directorates Chief Prosecutor Laura Codruţa Kövesi has been awarded the French highest civilian decoration, that of Knight of the Legion of Honour. It was awarded by the French Ambassador to Bucharest, François Saint Paul. At the award ceremony, the French Ambassador highlighted the fact that the Romanian anti-corruption agencys results were outstanding. In confirmation of that came a European Union report, ranking the National Anti-Corruption Directorate among Europes top five such institutions. The French Ambassador went on to say the head of the National Anti-Corruption Directorate was an epitome of professionalism, integrity and probity. In turn, Laura Codruta Kovesi stated that the fight against corruption was central to safeguarding the rule of law in Romania.

  • Salaries in the public sector under public debate

    Salaries in the public sector under public debate

    On Tuesday, the Labour Ministry launched for public debate a draft emergency ordinance regarding salaries in the public sector. The main amendments concern the full restructuring of the pay system in healthcare and education and introducing a bonus system based on performance criteria, which would benefit the employees in the two sectors as of January 1st, 2017.



    The draft also stipulates the elimination of salary gaps for equal positions and equal labour for all occupational families, which are groups of occupations based upon work performed, skills, education, training and credentials.



    Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has stated that the draft will correct some of the system’s dysfunctions, with focus on the healthcare sector, but not all of them, because the Government has to abide by some budgetary constraints. According to the Labour Minister Dragos Pislaru, as a result of these measures over 1.2 million people will have higher salaries and nobody will be affected by salary cuts.



    Dragos Pislaru: “We have analyzed all figures in order to make sure that the salaries that we will include in the salary grid for the healthcare sector, for instance, are higher than the biggest salaries already in the system. As for the other type of correction, as you will see, all salaries in the same unit will be aligned to the maximum level. So, there are no suspicions that anybody’s salary will drop.”



    The President of the National Trade Union Bloc Dumitru Costin says that only 400,000 employees in the budget sector will benefit from higher salaries, and the other 800,000 will not. The draft on salaries in the public sector has raised trade unions’ discontent, especially in the education sector. They say that this new order only solves the issues facing the health sector and the central administration. Anton Hadar, the president of the ‘Alma Mater’ National Federation of Trade Unions in Public Administration:



    Anton Hadar: “These are just patches. As regards the education system, it would be fine if these patches solved anything and make up for something good. But they can only cover a small portion of the issues facing the system.”



    Trade unionists in the local public administration threaten with strikes and boycotting local elections. Pompiliu Buzduga, the vice-President of the National Trade Union Federation in Administration:


    Pompiliu Buzduga: “It is not normal for seven ministries to benefit from a 70% salary raise, and the local administration to get nothing.”



    The budgetary impact triggered by the changes in the salary grid stands at some 2.3 billion lei, of which 1.2 billion will be allocated to make up for the existing salary gaps, and 1.022 billion for the reform in the healthcare sector.







  • Public sector salaries

    Public sector salaries

    Late last week, the Romanian Labour Minister Dragos
    Paslaru announced that a new emergency ordinance on salaries in the public
    sector, drafted together with the main stakeholders, might be ready by May 15th.
    The draft will be under public debate for two weeks, and the Executive might
    pass it on June 1st. This is actually the deadline, as according to
    the law, an emergency ordinance can only be adopted within six months before
    the start of general elections. The labour minister said the goal of the
    ordinance would be to adjust the base salary in the public sector. The
    government wants to obtain stakeholders’ approval, given that budget resources
    are limited and only the lowest salaries will be increased. Under the new
    ordinance, some 300,000 to 500,000 state employees might benefit from a salary
    increase.




    In another move, the Government spokesman Dan Suciu
    has stated that the passing of the ordinance very much depends on whether the
    document is accepted by stakeholders and, if they find more flaws than
    benefits, the ordinance will not go through. Trade union federation leaders
    have already announced that they are unhappy with the new bill and have warned
    that inequalities will not disappear, but only move a little upwards from the
    bottom of the salary grid. For such salary increases the government has 2
    billion lei available, which is too small an amount according to trade unions,
    which have announced they might stage protest meetings. Marius Sepi, the
    first-vice-president of Sanitas trade union federation, believes that an
    approach by ‘bits’ is not acceptable, as only some people would benefit from
    such corrections. He said financing solutions must be found for this ordinance
    to cover all types of employees.




    A new meeting of the National Three-Party Council was
    held on Friday at the Government, with government, employers’ associations and
    trade unions discussing the principles governing the new ordinance. The
    meetings will continue, with the aim of reaching a consensus as to the
    provisions of the ordinance. According to the National Institute of Statistics,
    there are 1.2 million state employees in Romania, out of a total active
    population of 9 million people.




    Economic analysts say that an increase in personnel
    expenditure might increase the state budget deficit and, if other increases are
    to occur, endorsed by Parliament, the risk of having to implement a new fiscal
    consolidation period will also grow. Therefore, in the near future, in order to
    strike a balance, expenditure will have to be curbed or more people will have
    to be made redundant.

  • Challenges Facing the New Labour Minister

    Challenges Facing the New Labour Minister

    The new Romanian Labour Minister, the 40-year old Dragos Paslaru, an economist by trade, took office on Tuesday, just one day after being sworn in before the head of state Klaus Iohannis. The President stressed the fact that the new minister was taking over the office at a very complicated time and advised the new minister to turn salaries in the public sector into a priority of his term in office. Klaus Iohannis:



    Klaus Iohannis: “Obviously, expectations are high with regard to eliminating salary inequality in the public sector. I hope that, together with all the other stakeholders, you will find a solution that would really improve the situation in this sector.



    Dragos Paslaru, a former economic adviser to Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos, was proposed by the very PM to replace Ana Costea, who resigned last week, following protests by trade unions over the draft emergency ordinance on salaries in the public sector. In the meantime, PM Ciolos has announced that the executive carries on talks with the main stakeholders on the salary issue, with the aim of finding a feasible and acceptable solution, from both a budgetary and legal point of view.



    Another challenge for the new Labour Minister is to enforce the new provisions of the law regarding child rearing leave and benefits, which have been recently promulgated by the head of state. At the investiture ceremony, President Iohannis said that was a very important law for Romanias demographic development and called for proper implementation solutions.



    Klaus Iohannis: “I believe this is a good law, awaited for and welcome. It is a pro-active law in this field of demographic policies, and it is definitely extremely important to Romania.



    The new law eliminates the monthly child rearing benefit cap, which until recently was 760 Euro. Therefore, under the new law, mothers will get 85% of their incomes, for a period of 2 years. The parents who decide to get back to work sooner are entitled to an incentive accounting for 50% of the minimum guaranteed benefit.



    Parents who have won taxable incomes for a period of minimum 12 months in the last two years may benefit from a 2 year child rearing leave, or 3 years, if the child is disabled. The new provisions are due to come into force on July 1st, but the Finance Minister has recently said there are not enough funds to apply the law until the budget is adjusted. The National Liberal Party has hailed the promulgation of the law and has called on the new Labour Minister to identify the financial resources needed to grant child rearing benefits.

  • Salary rise for public sector employees

    Salary rise for public sector employees


    With 319 yes votes, 7 abstentions and only one no vote, the Romanian Chamber of Deputies passed on Wednesday a bill to raise public sector salaries by 10% as of December 1st. The medical staff has benefited from a 25% pay rise as of October 1st, following an increase of salaries in the state education sector. Romanian MPs say all public sector employees should benefit from higher salaries, not just those working in the education and health systems. Given that the Chamber of Deputies is Parliaments decision-making body, the bill will go straight to President Klaus Iohannis to be signed into law.



    The Social Democrat MP Adrian Solomon, who initiated the bill, explains why it had to be passed through an emergency procedure:



    “Unless the law is enforced by December 1st, so that all state employee salaries to grow from that date, it will be impossible to raise salaries after this date, because 2016 is an election year and the Fiscal Responsibility Law makes any salary rise unlawful in an election year.”



    Although they initially opposed this measure, which was not backed by the Finance Ministry, the Liberals eventually supported it. They have asked, however, for an impact study to see if the state budget can cover the additional expenses. The leader of the Liberal MPs, Eugen Nicolaescu:



    “We do not know if Romanias budget next year will be able to cover this pay rise. We must act responsibly towards our citizens and make sure that we can deliver on what we promise.”



    The Liberals believe the Social Democrats initiative is in fact an attempt to score some points with the voters ahead of the 2016 parliamentary elections. Romania is in a period of transition following the resignation of the Victor Ponta cabinet and before the formation of a technocratic government by the new prime minister designate Dacian Ciolos, a former European Commissioner.



    Romanias existing fiscal plans are unlikely to undergo significant changes following the nomination of a new prime minister to succeed Victor Ponta, Fitch Ratings says. The main sovereign rating sensitivity remains the possibility that fiscal loosening jeopardises the stability of public finances.Romanias ratings are supported by a healthy economic outlook with real GDP to rise 3.3% this year, low inflation, comfortable foreign reserves, and a stable banking sector.



    (Translated by: E. Enache; edited by: C. Mateescu)