Radio România Internațional

Tag: salary

  • June 17, 2024 UPDATE

    June 17, 2024 UPDATE

     

    EURO 2024 – Romania defeated Ukraine on Monday, 3-0 in their opening Group E match in Munich, at the European Football Championship hosted by Germany. The goals were scored by Nicolae Stanciu, Razvan Marin and Denis Dragus. The tournament brings together 24 national sides, divided into six groups. Romania will next play Belgium on 22nd June in Cologne and Slovakia on 26th June in Frankfurt. This is Romania’s 6th participation in the European Championship after 1984, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. Romanian referees are also taking part in the tournament, with Istvan Kovacs as main referee, two assistant referees and a video assistant referee.

     

    SENATE – The Romanian Senate marked on Monday 160 years since its establishment, through a solemn meeting. Current and former leaders of the institution evoked its importance and role in the development of the Romanian state and democracy. The Senate Speaker, Nicolae Ciucă, said that a democracy is only as strong as parliament. “At the same time, a strong parliament is a parliament that enjoys the trust of the people. People’s trust is the foundation that determines the stability of the political regime,” he said. The interim speaker of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfred Simonis, emphasized the role of the Senate in strengthening Romanian democracy.

     

    VISIT –  Prime minister Marcel Ciolacu on Monday started a two-day official visit to Bavaria, Germany, to mark the 25th anniversary of Romanian-Bavarian relations. He will coordinate on Tuesday, together with the Bavarian prime minister Markus Soder, the first joint meeting of the Romanian-Bavaria government. Foreign and European policy files, security, cooperation, social affairs and labor will be discussed. “The economic dimension is a pillar of our collaboration. Among the German states, Bavaria is the most important investor and commercial partner for Romania, with a trade volume of more than 8 billion euros”, Marcel Ciolacu said. “We want the big companies based in Bavaria in the automotive, engineering and aerospace industries to invest in Romania,” he also said. The Romanian community is the largest foreign community in Bavaria. According to official data, 213,000 Romanian citizens are settled there.

     

    SALARY –  The government is this week due to discuss draft legislation to adopt the European minimum wage in Romania. The bill transposes a European directive stipulating that the minimum wage in a country must account for at least 50% of the average income. The gross minimum salary in Romania currently stands at 660 euros and is set to go up to 740 euros from 1st July.

     

    CAMPAIGN – French political parties on Monday entered the election campaign for the snap elections which will take place in two rounds, on June 30 and July 7. The early elections were called by President Emmanuel Macron, after he dissolved the National Assembly, following the European elections, when the far right won a resounding victory and the presidential party was severely punished by the electorate, mainly due to the decrease in purchasing power. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent in Paris, last week President Macron explained his decision to dissolve the Assembly by the need for a clarification on the French political scene, after two years of tensions in Parliament, which blocked the activity of a government that lacked majority and especially after the result in the European elections. Macron called on moderate politicians to unite against the far right and far left. (EE)

     

  • April 13, 2024

    April 13, 2024

    Salary – In Romania, the average net salary rose to 4,876 lei (about 980 Euros) in February, up 17 lei compared to the previous month, according to data published by the National Institute of Statistics. The lowest values ​​are still in the field of clothing manufacturing, and the highest in information technology. As to the evolution of consumer prices, the average wage was actually slightly lower than in January, but, compared to February 2023, it increased by 14%. The minimum wage in Romania will increase, from July 1, from 3,300 lei to 3,700 lei (740 Euros).

     

    Aid – The European Commission sent the member states the proposal to extend the measures regarding state aid, in the context of the crisis triggered by the war in Ukraine. Until June 30, the EU countries can grant a series of facilities to limit the negative effects of the conflict in such domains as agriculture and energy. The Commission made this decision following the difficulties faced by European farmers in particular and as a result of their consultation through the online survey completed on March 27. According to the survey, the markets of the member states are still unbalanced by the effects of the war, and also by the measures taken by the EU to support the Ukrainian export of agricultural products. According to the commission’s proposal, member states can grant state aid of up to 280,000 Euros to agricultural companies, up to 335,000 Euros to those in the field of fishing and aquaculture and up to 2.25 million Euros to those in the rest of the affected sectors. A second type of aid is aimed at compensating energy costs, and primarily targets the large industrial consumers.

     

    Tennis – Romania is led by Ukraine 2-0 after the first matches played, on Friday, in the USA, in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifiers. Elina Svitolina defeated Jaqueline Cristian, and Ana Bogdan lost to Lesia Ţurenko. Today, Bogdan will face Svitolina, and the last singles match will pit Cristian against Ţurenko. The pair Liudmila Kicenok/Nadia Kicenok and Mara Gae/Anca Todoni will meet in the doubles match. Romania and Ukraine have met four times so far, with the Romanians leading with the score 3-1. In November, Romania defeated Serbia in the play-off to stay in the World Group of the competition, while Ukraine defeated Lithuania.

     

    Middle East – The American forces in the Middle East and the Israeli forces are on alert to respond to a possible Iranian attack. Tehran has threatened to respond to the April 1 attack, blamed on Israel, on a building belonging to the Iranian Embassy in Damascus, in which a prominent commander of the Revolutionary Guards was killed. According to the Radio Romania News and Current Affairs (RRA) correspondent, Israel’s defense system announced that all the military departments of the army are prepared for the conflict with Iran at any moment it may occur. In order to prepare in advance the reaction to a possible launch of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles or drones, the Israeli air force keeps patrolling and observation planes in the air 24 hours a day, and all interception systems are on high alert.

     

    Kyiv – The situation on the Eastern Front has deteriorated considerably in the last few days, the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, Oleksandr Sîrski, said on Saturday. He said that this was mainly due to a significant intensification of the Russian offensive after the presidential election in Moscow. Kyiv has been asking its Western allies for months for more ammunition and anti-aircraft defense systems. However, the aid is running out due to political blockages in Washington, which forces the Ukrainian military to save ammunition, the press agencies write. The Ukrainian military are also having difficulty in the recruiting process, to face larger and better-equipped Russian forces. (LS)

     

  • Minimum Wages on the rise in Romania

    Minimum Wages on the rise in Romania


    As announced while the government was assuming responsibility for a new series of fiscal-budgetary laws, minimum salaries in Romania are to be raised by 10%, from 3,000 to 3300 RON, the equivalent of 660 euros. The beneficiaries of the new measures are over 1.8 million employees working mainly in transport, trade and SMEs.


    The aforementioned pay raise is aimed at protecting the income of every employee, at the same time boosting employment, the purchase power and curbing illegal work. Other social categories in the low income bracket, such as the handicapped and those involved with various independent activities and intellectual property rights, are to also benefit the new measure.


    This government will not give up on the priority of raising the minimum salary and we would like to have another raise in 2024, which we are going to discuss with social partners, the head of the Romanian Executive, Marcel Ciolacu has said. The Romanian official has also insisted that no minimum wages are to decrease in Romania upon the enforcement of the new fiscal-budgetary law package for which the government has assumed responsibility before Parliament. For this reason the Executive decided to scrap the draft ordinance on raising the minimum salaries in the construction sector as these salaries would have decreased upon the introduction of the health insurance contributions. As a result, employees in constructions, agriculture and food industry will have their salaries unchanged as they dont have to pay health contributions.


    Marcel Ciolacu:” According to the calculations the Finance Ministry presented on Thursday, upon the introduction of health insurance contributions for all employees, the minimum net salary in constructions, agriculture and food industry could have dropped. We have all, and especially I, pledged that such a thing is not going to happen as this is something I do not agree with. No minimum net pay was supposed to be trimmed, so we decided to cancel this ordinance to prevent this from happening. The field ministries are to revise the text and until then all the wages in the aforementioned fields, constructions, agriculture and food industry will remain unchanged as the employees there are exempted from paying health insurance contributions.”


    The government initially wanted to raise the minimum gross wages in constructions from 4,000 to 4,500 lei, the equivalent of roughly 900 euros, but the National Trade Union Block proposed that the gross wages in constructions be raised to 46 hundred lei and in agriculture to 35 hundred lei. The new form of the aforementioned ordinance might be high on the agenda of the new round of talks the government is going to have next week. Time enough for the Finance Ministry to recalculate the money involved.


    (bill)


  • June 9, 2023

    June 9, 2023

    STRIKE Disgruntled by the government’s failure to meet their
    claims, trade unions in Romania’s education system have today kicked off another
    protest in Bucharest. Protests are also taking place in other major cities
    across the country. Also today, the Romanian Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca will
    be having a new round of talks with trade union representatives. The government
    on Thursday endorsed a memorandum on pay rises granted to the personnel in the
    country’s education system under the future salary law – through which the
    government guarantees this domain as a priority. Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca
    has given assurances the salary of the beginner teachers will be based on the
    average gross salary as trade unions have requested. The memorandum also mentions
    a holiday bonus for the employees according to their salaries as well as other
    bonuses. The protesters say though the political statement on Thursday doesn’t
    have any legal value, which prompted them to carry on the protests they started
    on May 22. They say they don’t trust Romania’s political class as there have
    been numerous cases since 2010, when politicians have chosen not to implement
    the laws they issued. Field minister
    Ligia Deca has announced that applications for the Baccalaureate and the
    national assessment exams for 8th graders will be extended until
    June 13 and the competency tests from the Baccalaureate exam will take place
    over 14 – 23 June.








    DIPLOMACY The Russian
    Foreign Ministry has deemed a decision by the Romanian authorities to reduce Russia’s
    diplomatic presence in Romania as a hostile act, which will not remain
    unanswered. Specific measures will be announced in due time, Maria Zakharova,
    the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. The Romanian Foreign
    Ministry has announced the ambasador of the Russian Federation in Bucharest was
    briefed on Thursday upon the decision of the Romanian authorities to reduce the
    diplomatic and technical-administrative personnel of the Russian Federation in
    Romania by limiting their number to a level close to Romania’s diplomatical
    representation in the Russian Federation. Within 30 days, the number of
    diplomats must be reduced by 21 and the auxiliary personnel by 30. The measure
    has been endorsed according to the 1961 Vienna convention on diplomatic
    relations and reflects the present level of the bilateral relations sharply
    reduced by Romania after the beginning of Russia’s war in Ukraine, the Romanian
    Foreign Ministry has specified.








    TIFF As of today, the city of Cluj in
    northwestern Romania, will be the capital of the international cinematography
    for the next ten days. The Transylvania Film Festival, known as TIFF, has
    kicked off with roughly 200 films to be screened and 12 vying in the official
    contest. Famous actors and directors from Romania and abroad, including US
    director Oliver Stone, have announced their participation. At TIFF, film goers
    will be able to meet Oscar winners or actors who starred in the famous series
    ‘Pirates of the Caribbean’ or ‘Harry Potter’. Inspired from real events, which
    took place in Sibiu, central Romania, back in 1989, ‘Freedom’, the latest film
    of Romanian director Tudor Giurgiu will be premiered at TIFF. Romanian actor
    Horatiu Malaele, who is going to give a performance at the aforementioned film
    festival, will be awarded the excellence award.








    WEATHER And now a look at the weather
    which is generally unstable in the country’s west, north-west, central regions
    as well as in the mountains. The sky is overcast with thunderstorms and heavy
    downpours reported in some areas. In the other Romanian regions, the weather is
    predominantly warm and even hot with temperatures ranging from 21 to 30 degrees
    Celsius and a noon reading in Bucharest of 30 degrees.






    (bill)

  • Massive teachers’ protests

    Massive teachers’ protests

    Since the winter season, the teachers had announced that, if the Romanian Government did not find any satisfactory solution to their problems, they would go on an all-out strike, with possible negative consequences on the end-of-school-year exam schedule. After a pandemic in which they were on their own in managing the online or hybrid teaching process, for which they had never been trained, against the general background of an underfunded education system, after being left at the whims of education ministers from various parties, who made rather uninspired decisions, the teachers have decided that it is high time they made their grievances heard. In the last few days, massive street protests both in Bucharest and in numerous cities in Romania added to the teachers protest, which started on May 22. The protesters asked the Government to find solutions to grant them a salary increase until the end of the year, and to guarantee, by law, a decent salary to the beginner teachers.



    What did the government offer them? Two bonuses! Here is union leader, Marius Nistor, with details: The Government’s offer is the same as last night, and the categorical answer that we bring on behalf of hundreds of thousands of employees protesting in the country and, today, in Bucharest is: No! They need a decent salary, they need a 25% increase in their income, they need that law which stipulates that the salary of the beginner teacher must be equivalent to the average gross salary and that which should underlie the future unitary salary law.



    So, on Tuesday, hoping that the President Klaus Iohannis, a former teacher himself, will get involved in mediating the conflict with the Executive, tens of thousands of teachers and representatives of the non-teaching staff from all over the country gathered in front of the Presidency headquarters to demand higher salaries and investments in the education system. The President said that he understood their concerns and requests but emphasized that solving the blockage in the education system and ending the strike are crucial for the smooth unfolding of the school year. Klaus Iohannis also expressed willingness to guarantee a political agreement signed by all governing parties to ensure that the new salary grid will respect the requests of the education employees.



    Here is what some of the teachers say: Our message has been misunderstood that we are only interested in the salary part, we are actually fighting for correct legislation.



    I want that decent living guaranteed by the Romanian Constitution. We only have debt-ridden lives.



    Meanwhile, the period for completing the school year and for registering for this year’s baccalaureate exam has been extended. The Education Ministry stated that the change will not affect the exam schedule. (LS)

  • January 14, 2021 UPDATE

    January 14, 2021 UPDATE

    VACCINATION More than 3,500 new coronavirus cases and 66 related deaths were recorded on Thursday in Romania. The total number of confirmed cases is now over 684,000, while the death toll is 17,035. 1,101 Covid patients are in intensive care. 90% of Romanians who caught the virus have recovered. Some 155,000 healthcare workers and those working in social care have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Romania. Phase two of the vaccination campaign gets under way on Friday, targeting the elderly, chronic patients and workers in key sectors, totalling some 5 million people. PM Florin Cîțu says the pace of vaccination will be stepped up, the target being the immunisation of more than 10 million people by September. 62% of Romanians say they want to be given the vaccine according to a poll conducted by Reveal Marketing Research between 6th and 11th January.



    SALARY LAW The government is looking at bonuses in the public sector and if they are justified as part of drafting the state budget for this year, PM Florin Cîţu said on Thursday. He explained that he is considering amending the salary law to eliminate inequalities in the public sector. He said the pensions law would also be amended this year to take into account the contribution principle. The government on Wednesday increased the gross minimum wage by approx. 3%.



    SCHOOLS Most schools in Romania will reopen on February 8, if the COVID-19 situation stays the same as in the past few weeks, president Klaus Iohannis said on Thursday. He had a meeting with the PM Florin Cîţu, the education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, the health minister Vlad Voiculescu, the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, and the head of the National Centre for Infectious Disease Monitoring and Control, Adriana Pistol. Iohannis explained that when the infection rate in a locality goes above 6 per thousand, a lockdown will be introduced. He also said the situation will be re-assessed prior to opening schools, with a final decision to be made on February 2. As far as universities are concerned, each institution will be free to decide. With the exception of two months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year, with teaching being conducted online.



    PROTEST Healthcare trade unions in Solidaritatea Sanitara federation picketed the government building in Bucharest and prefecture offices around the country to demand more protection measures for healthcare workers amid the pandemic. They also demand a rise in the basic salary for all healthcare staff as of January 1 this year, to the level stipulated in the salary law for 2022. The federation also wants the government to give up on the reduction of the basic salary as a result of a government order issued at the end of 2020, and to grant all healthcare workers special bonuses and a risk incentive for the entire duration of the pandemic.



    AIR FORCES Four Romanian F-16 aicraft with Air Base 86 in Borcea (south-eastern Romania), together with US Air Force aircraft deployed in Europe, took part on Thursday in the Prime Accord multinational military exercise. The exercise included escort and combat patrol missions. According to the Romanian defence ministry, the action was designed to reinforce NATO assurance measures in south-east Europe, and to check the integration of Romanian and NATO command and control structures. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Minimum salary and pension rise

    Minimum salary and pension rise

    The government in Bucharest has increased the minimum gross basic salary at national level, which thus reaches 2,300 lei per month, the equivalent of approximately 470 euros. It is an increase of about three percent, taking into account the inflation rate of 2.2% and the real increase in labor productivity per person of 0.8% for 2020. According to official data, in Romania there are about 1.4 million employees who receive the minimum salary, which represents more than a quarter of the total active workforce. For staff with higher education and at least one year of experience in the field of training, the minimum gross base guaranteed salary is maintained at 2,350 lei, about 480 euros, an amount that does not include bonuses and other benefits.



    Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has stated that this increase comes into force on January 1st and citizens purchasing power is maintained. He has also announced that the Executive will increase pension this year too, but in keeping with the calendar set by the current center-right coalition and only after the state budget has been developed.



    On Wednesday, the Constitutional Court of Romania issued a decision admitting, but also rejecting claims from the Government related to a law to increase pensions by 40%, adopted by the former parliament, dominated at the time by the Social Democrats. According to some experts, this means that the law on the increase remains in force if the current parliament does not bring changes to it, at the potential request of President Klaus Iohannis. Romania did not afford last year and cannot afford it this year either to increase pensions by 40%, the Liberal Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has warned. He has recalled that pensions increased by 14% in 2020 and promised they will increase this year as well.



    Representatives of the governing coalition have said they took on another timetable for raising pensions, which takes into account the current economic conditions.The Minister of Labor, Raluca Turcan, claims that such an increase would generate an impact on the budget that is difficult to bear and that the executive will increase the pensions in a bearable quantum, which will not lead to blockages.



    The president of the opposition Social Democratic Party, Marcel Ciolacu, has accused the current coalition of permanently complaining about the lack of money, without trying to look for solutions. That is why, he has said, the Social Democrats will present their own budget solution and prove that the money exists. The Social Democrats also claim that the Constitutional Courts decision is correct and that the 40 percent pension increase must be applied, without intervening on it. Prime Minister Florin Cîțu has explained that the state budget for this year will be submitted to Parliament at the beginning of next month and then the amounts allocated for pensions will be set. (M. Ignatescu)

  • 14 January, 2021

    14 January, 2021

    Vaccination. More than 3,500 new coronavirus cases and 66
    related deaths were recorded today in Romania. Total number of confirmed cases now
    surpasses 684,000, while the death toll is 17,035. 1,101 Covid
    patients are in intensive care. 90% of Romanians who caught the virus have
    recovered. Some
    155,000 healthcare workers and those working in social care have received the
    first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine in Romania. Phase two of the vaccination
    campaign gets under way on Friday, targeting the elderly, chronic patients and
    workers in key sectors, totalling some 5 million people. Prime minister Florin Cîțu says the pace of vaccination will be
    stepped up, the target being the immunisation of more than 10 million people by
    September. 62% of Romanians say they want to be given the vaccine according to
    a poll conducted by Reveal
    Marketing Research between 6th and 11th January.






    WHO. The World Health Organisation has warned
    that 2021 may be more difficult than 2020 because the spread of new, much more
    contagious, variants of the virus is harder to control. The warning comes as a
    new strain, initially found in the UK, has now already been confirmed in 50 different
    countries and territories. World Health Organisation experts are in Wuhan,
    China, to investigate the origin of the pandemic. The 10 scientists on this
    mission will be interviewing staff of research institutes, hospitals and the
    produce market where the first Covid-19 outbreak was reported at the end of
    2019. The arrival of the scientists, after months of negotiations between the
    World Health Organisation and China, comes as fresh coronavirus cases have been
    reported in northern China. 92.8 million persons have been infected with the
    virus globally, while the death toll is nearing 2 million.




    Protest. Healthcare trade unions in Solidaritatea
    Sanitara federation are picketing the government building in Bucharest and
    prefecture offices around the country to demand more protection measures for
    healthcare workers amid the pandemic. They are also demanding a rise in the
    basic salary for all healthcare staff as of 1st January this year to
    the level stipulated in the salary law for 2022. The federation also wants the
    government to give up on the reduction of the basic salary as a result of a
    government order issued at the end of 2020 and to grant all healthcare workers
    special bonuses and a risk incentive for the entire duration of the pandemic.




    Salary law. The
    government is looking at bonuses in the public sector and if they are justified
    as part of drafting the state budget for this year, said prime minister Florin
    Cîţu today. He explained that he is considering amending the salary law to
    eliminate inequalities in the public sector. He said the pensions law would
    also be amended this year to take into account the contribution principle. The
    government on Wednesday increased the gross minimum wage by approx. 3%.






    Schools. Romanian president Klaus Iohannis is
    today meeting education minister Sorin Cîmpeanu, public health officials and
    other education and healthcare officials to assess the epidemiological
    situation and the possibility of reopening schools. With the exception of two
    months, schools have been closed in Romania since March last year, with
    teaching being conducted online. Children, parents and teachers are all calling
    for the resumption of in-person learning. In the opinion of UNICEF, the
    long-term closure of schools has devastating consequences, especially for
    vulnerable children.






    Corruption. The former Liberal Democrat MEP Marian Zlotea is wanted by
    the Romanian police after he was handed a final sentence of 8 years and a half
    in prison for corruption and peddling in influence. As the head of the National
    Sanitary and Veterinary Authority, he used to force employees to pay monthly
    contributions to the now defunct Liberal Democratic Party. On Wednesday, when
    he received his sentence, Zlotea posted on Facebook that he left Romania and
    applied for political refugee status in a different country, from where he also
    plans to write to the European Court of Human Rights.




    Celebration. Romanian minister for culture Bogdan Gheorghiu is today unveiling the events to be held
    as part of the celebration of National Culture Day tomorrow. The holiday has
    been celebrated since 2010 in Romania, the majority Romanian-speaking Republic
    of Moldova, historical ethnic Romanian communities and other Romanian
    communities abroad. It coincides with the anniversary of the birthday of 19th
    century poet Mihai Eminescu, the national poet in Romania. Romanian diplomatic
    and consular missions and cultural institutes abroad are hosting special
    events. (CM)

  • Women’s economic empowerment

    Women’s economic empowerment

    The latest EU statistics indicate that gender gaps still exist in the economy. And perhaps the most painful aspects are the ones related to womens access to jobs and incomes. In 2017, in the EU, mens incomes were 16% higher than womens, whereas in terms of pensions the figure goes up to 37%. The statistics indicate that women are still in a more vulnerable economic position than men. The situation has barely improved in the 25 years since the UN adopted the Beijing Platform for Action, seeking to promote and protect the full enjoyment of all human rights and the fundamental freedoms of all women.




    For centuries, women have provided unpaid work, consisting in household and family responsibilities. The problem, obviously, is not that these activities should be remunerated, but that they should be shared, in a fair manner, by the two partners in a household, rather than being a burden for the women alone. But again, EU statistics clearly indicate an imbalance in this respect as well




    According to the most recent report made public by the European Institute for Gender Equality this month, the Gender Equality Index for the labour market stands at 72 points out of 100. In Romania, this indicator is below the European average, standing at 68 points. More specifically, the employment rate among women is 61%, as against 79% for men. On the other hand, Romania has the smallest salary gap, with men earning on average only 3% more than women.



    Not the same is true however when it comes to pensions. In 2017, mens pensions were 63% higher in the 65-79 age bracket. In fact, the economic situation of the elderly, irrespective of gender, was the topic of an analysis run by the Social Monitor, a project initiated by Friedrich Ebert Romania based on data provided by Eurostat. Victoria Stoiciu with the Ebert Romania Foundation told us more:



    Victoria Stoiciu: “According to Eurostat figures, in 2018 in Romania 36.7% of the citizens over 65 years were subject to poverty risks. And women were the most affected. As many as 43% of the Romanian women were in this situation in 2018, as compared to 19% of the men. In fact, this is the highest poverty level among the elderly since 2009, when the economic crisis was fully felt. And this is very alarming. Although many have criticised the pension increases of the past few years, arguing that the national economy is unable to sustain them, data show that all these increases still fail to keep up with the needs of the elderly, and that poverty in this category is on the rise.



    What could be the reasons for the gender pension gap in Romania? According to Victoria Stoiciu, they are not different from the ones at work in the EU as a whole:



    Victoria Stoiciu: “This situation is caused by the gender differences in the labour market in Romania, which in turn are the result of structural disadvantages that Romanian women face and which reflect in their incomes after retirement. What are these structural disadvantages? First of all, women are less likely to participate in the labour market. The ratio of women who are employed has been systematically lower than the number of employed men. This is in part rooted in the traditionalist view that women should stay at home and take care of the family. But even when they have jobs, women work for shorter periods, and their salaries are constantly lower. And this obviously leads to discrepancies in terms of pension levels, because benefits are based on the amount contributed during the employment years. On the other hand, this also affects womens capacity to save money during their active years. And all these factors add to each other and womens systematic discrimination in the economy is the most evident after retirement.


    (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • The Paradoxes of Diminishing Poverty in Romania

    The Paradoxes of Diminishing Poverty in Romania


    10 years after Romania joined the EU, the country made significant progress in addressing poverty. In 2007, 47% of Romanians lived under the poverty threshold, but in 2015, that figure went down to 37%. These figures are calculated based on a statistical index called AROPE, measuring both annual income and assets. This means that, in the last few years, more Romanians could afford appliances, mobile phones, as well as eating meat every other day, or go on vacation once a year. The Romanian branch of the Friedrich Stiftung Foundation, with its Social Monitor project, analysed the data gathered since the EU accession, and drew conclusions regarding poverty. Victoria Stoicioiu shared them with us:



    Victoria Stoicioiu: “You can see with the naked eye that more people today own mobile phones and colour TVs than in 2007. These goods went down in price, and contracting a loan is much easier. So, if we look at this index, we can see that poverty went down significantly between 2007 and 2015. Romanians are doing better.”



    However, the Social Monitor revealed a paradox as well: while Romanians overall are faring better, for some it has been getting worse. If we look at income alone, the money that people have on hand, we can see that poverty has actually been on the rise. More to the point, there was a rise in people with incomes below 60% of the national average. In 2015, the figure reached 25% of the population, from 18% in 2007. Victoria Stoicioiu goes into detail:



    Victoria Stoicioiu: “The poorest 10% of Romanians live in rural communities, and they are generally people who make a living practicing subsistence agriculture. No progress has been registered in this respect. In 2007, the poorest 10% of Romanians were making 556 Euro annually. I am talking about income, not salary, income that can be obtained by selling homemade products, such as eggs and cheese, etc. In 2015, the incomes of the poorest reached 714 Euro per year, which is insignificant. Approximately 2 million Romanians live on 714 Euro annual incomes.”



    Iulian Angheluta is the head of Free Miorita Foundation, and he talked to us about poverty in mountain areas. The foundation took on a difficult issue: to bring electricity to Romanian villages that have none. There are many such areas in Romania still, and the most affected in this respect are the most isolated areas, villages and homesteads in the mountains. He described for us the living conditions there:



    Iulian Angheluta: “They have unpaved roads, and water sources are mostly mountain springs. There is no electricity. In most areas of the Apuseni Mountains, in the mountain parts of the counties of Hunedoara, Maramures and Bistrita Nasaud, there is no wiring for electricity. There are plans, and the so-called feasibility studies. In addition, in many of those places they dont have the minimum necessary elements for a civilized life, such as a school or a clinic. They practice subsistence farming. Most people have a few animals in their yard, mostly cows and sheep. The forest is a source of firewood, as well as mushrooms and berries.”



    For these people, electricity would provide a minimum of comfortable living, but would also bring them out of isolation. Iulian Angheluta and his Free Miorita colleagues have provided a few isolated communities with solar panels, thinking first and foremost of the children in those communities:



    Iulian Angheluta: “Any household needs people who can work. Whether we like it or not, children are workhands. They take the sheep to pasture up in the mountains, or help their parents in various other ways. Their life is hard. Education is relegated to the background. Which is why I think electricity is very important. It is very important for children when they want to do homework, but also when they want to get informed and educated. They would have access to radio and telephone services, including for accessing emergency services, such as ambulances.”



    The situation of children and young people compared to that of older people is one of the paradoxes that emerge out of the analysis of poverty, according to Victoria Stoicioiu, representing the Friedrich Stiftung Foundation:



    Victoria Stoicioiu: “While Romania has made progress when it comes to reducing poverty and social exclusion among the elderly, progress has been more modest among young people. Poverty went down by only 6% between 2007 and 2015 for the people below 16 years of age. The pace has accelerated a lot. A possible explanation is that in 2009, the government passed a measure that contributed decisively to reducing poverty among the elderly: introducing the minimum social pension. At this point it is a mere 415 lei. And although 400 lei cannot provide a decent living, it is much better than it was before.”



    Civil society is trying to fill the gap left open by the lack of social protection policies. For instance, Free Miorita has provided 78 households in 15 counties with solar panels. In the last year, they also provided electricity to four schools and two churches.


    (translated by: Calin Cotoiu)

  • The state budget and salary increases

    The state budget and salary increases

    Finance Minister Viorel Stefan on Monday addressed a Chamber of Deputies plenary session, at the request of the National Liberal Party, in opposition. The Liberals wanted to see if the Social-Democratic Party can live up to the promises made in the election campaign, which included salary increases.



    The Liberals say state budget revenues for the first quarter are lower than the level reported in the corresponding period of last year, and below what the 2017 budget law had predicted. The National Liberal Party even called on Minister Stefan to step down, listing as the main reasons the Governments decision to cut public investment and the low rate of tax collection. Here is Liberal MP Bogdan Hutuca:



    Bogdan Hutuca: “Its been only three months since the Government took office, and the Romanian economy already finds itself against the wall, without the Government even beginning to honour its promises to society. And its not just the budget revenues that took a heavy blow. Expenses too are off the charts. As a result of poor budget policies in the first three months of the year, we now find ourselves in a terrible spot, where three categories of spending, personnel, procurement and social assistance, account for 85,31% of total expenditure.



    In turn, the interim Liberal president Raluca Turcan says revenues for January and February account for half the original estimate for the first three months of the year, making it impossible for the Government to cover its spending in March.



    Finance Minister Viorel Stefan has dismissed the Liberals point of view, arguing that the financial results for early 2017 are in line with the Governments economic growth target of 5,2%. Over 44,000 new jobs have been made available, and public confidence in the economy has also gone up, Viorel Stefan also says.



    Viorel Stefan: “The budget estimates for the first quarter of 2017 indicate a surplus of 0.2% of GDP in the consolidated budget. At the same time, positive results have been reported in terms of revenues from income taxes and social security contributions, as a result of the spike in public sector salaries, of a good VAT and excise collection rate in March, as well as of a 4.5% cut in procurement expenses as compared to the same period last year.



    Minister Viorel Stefan went on to say he is waiting for the budget execution figures for the first quarter, before estimating the impact of the unified pay scale law on the budget.



    Viorel Stefan: “Regarding the budgets capacity to absorb this impact, it is too early for me to tell. Im waiting for the figures for the first quarter to come out, so I may have a clearer image of the share of salary expenses the total salary fund will manage to cover in the second half of this year, and what the next budget periods will have to absorb.



    The unified pay scale law for public sector employees is due to come into force on July 1, after being debated and voted by Parliament.

  • April 6, 2017

    April 6, 2017

    CONFERENCE – The Romanian Presidency and the Venice Commission, with support from the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly are holding on Thursday and Friday in Bucharest an international conference called ‘Interaction Between a Political Majority and the Opposition in a Democracy’. The event offers the approximately 100 participants a platform for debate of the most difficult aspects of that interaction. At the same time, it plans to identify means by which this interaction can become more effective, to the benefit of European democracies and their citizens. At the end of the conference, the Venice Commission will issue a report on the main directions they recommend for a majority to interact with the opposition.



    WAGES – The draft law on unitary salaries for state employees in Romania is being presented today to the leadership of the Social Democratic Party, the main party in the ruling coalition in Romania, and will be introduced in Parliament on behalf of that formation. Social Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea said that this would accelerate the procedure of passing it, so that some wage raises could come into effect on July 1st. According to the bill, income is set to rise over the next five years, calculated based on the minimum wage. Stay tuned for more after the news.



    TENNIS – Romanian tennis player Irina Begu, 33rd seeded, qualified to the eighth finals in Charleston, the US, with 700,000 dollars in prize money. She has dealt a crushing 3 set defeat to Slovakian player Kristina Kucova, 81st seeded. In the eighth finals, Begu will play against Samantha Stosur, 6th favorite in the tour.



    BRATISLAVA – Romanian Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu goes on Thursday and Friday on an official visit to Bratislava, invited by his counterpart, Miroslav Lajčák. He is also set to meet President Andrej Kiska, as well as the head of the Slovakia-Romania Friendship Group in Parliament. The foreign minister will be emphasizing the importance of consolidating political and diplomatic dialog, as well as high level contact at the level of parliaments, in an attempt to maximize economic exchange. The agenda will also include issues of common interest, such as the future of Europe, the Brexit, energy security, as well as the migration crisis.



    WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump receives today Chinese President Xi Jinping, who starts his official visit to Washington. The main topics will be trade relations and the North Korean nuclear program. According to Radio Romania’s correspondent to Washington, while there are no expectation for the first meeting of the two leaders to settle the complicated differences between the two countries, experts say that it could help establish a working relationship. In his presidential campaign, Donald Trump threatened to point the finger at China as a currency manipulator, and to set a 45% tariff on Chinese goods. Experts expect President Xi Jinping to placate President Trump in an attempt to present a positive picture of the bilateral relation between the two countries.



    UNITED NATIONS – US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley warned that, unless the UN takes measures, Washington is ready to take military action in Syria. In an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday, the US, the UK and France condemned the chemical attack launched by the al-Assad regime on Tuesday in the northwest of Syria, which left dozens dead. The opinion was shared by Russia, which said that a complex and objective analysis was needed. The regime in Damascus denied involvement. Deputy Foreign Minister Fayssal Mikdad said that the Syrian armed forces have no such weapons. This chemical attack is the second worst since the beginning of the conflict in Syria, which started in 2011 and has left over 320,000 dead.


  • Higher salaries for railway workers and the police?

    Higher salaries for railway workers and the police?

    Police employees are staging three days of protests until Saturday, on Romanian Police Day, to demand that their salaries are also increased, as has happened in the healthcare system and other areas. On Thursday, they held a three-hour-and-a-half protest in front of the Labour Ministry building, where they blew vuvuzela horns, waved flags and carried placards saying that more than 60% of the Interior Ministry staff earns the minimum wage and warning that the equipment they work with is constantly degrading. During this time, police representatives were having talks with the ministry officials about the unitary pay law due to come into force on the 1st of July.



    After the talks, the president of the National Trade Union of Police Employees and Contract Workers, Dumitru Coarna, said the Interior Ministry employees earning the minimum wage of around 320 euros will benefit from a pay rise when the new law comes into force. 86,000 employees will see their salaries double, in several stages, within the next four years. Dumitru Coarna said, however, that protests would go ahead as planned, with a rally in front of the Interior Ministry building followed by a march towards the Government building. Members of the two trade unions that organised the protests are expected to take part, as well as unaffiliated employees. Police employees request the government to issue an emergency order to revise their pay scale, eliminate certain caps on benefits, compensations, bonuses and individual allowances and increase pay for overtime and weekend and public holiday work.



    Railway worker representatives have also obtained the promise of a pay rise this week. After two rounds of talks with the administration, it was decided that railway employees would see their salaries go up after the signing of the new collective employment contract. The wage bill of the Passenger Division of the Romanian Railways Company is to grow by more than 17%, while that of its Infrastructure Division by 22%. A new collective employment contract may be signed after the 5th of April.



    Until then, a new agreement that extends the current contract will be applied. Fresh talks with the administration will take place next week to discuss proposals made by trade unions, including pay rises for the staff of the Freight Division of the Romanian Railways Company to reflect the amount of work performed. A spontaneous strike on Wednesday, when over 150 trains were cancelled, caused the Railways Company losses of around 17,500 euros.


    (Translated by Cristina Mateescu)