Radio România Internațional

Tag: salary increase

Social discontent in Romania

The Romanian coalition government is in a fix, under double pressure, put by both the education and healthcare trade unions which are asking for significant salary increases, and by the excessive budget deficit, which is above the limit allowed in the European Union. The teachers and the non-teaching staff have been on an all-out strike since Monday, which they say could be extended for several weeks, jeopardizing the national exams. So far, the negotiations have failed. The trade unionists want the authorities to find quick solutions for increasing the salaries of all the teaching staff.

The representatives of students and parents have also had talks with the government. They support the demands of the teachers, but they are worried about the approaching end-of-year exams. The government claims that the solution is the adoption of the salary law. However, the teachers have lost patience, they say that they are tired of promises and demand the adoption of a law that should increase all salaries in the education system until the new law on public sector salaries is drafted by Parliament. The authorities should increase not only the incomes of the beginner teachers but also those of all teaching staff, the trade unionists claim.

According to Anton Hadăr, the leader of the Alma Mater National Trade Union Federation they are speaking about 260,000 people: We did not receive a satisfactory proposal. Longer-term solutions, i.e. the future salary law, are also being protracted. At this pace, I guarantee you that there will be a strike this entire week, and I think the strike will be extended, not just for a week.

Social discontent is rising dangerously in the area of healthcare too. Dissatisfied with the fact that the unitary salary law was allegedly not applied correctly, the trade unionists from the Sanitas Federation picketed the Health Ministry. A possible strike by nurses and caretakers will not affect the hospitalized patients, but it will cause the postponement of certain surgical operations.

The president of the Sanitas Federation, Leonard Bărăscu: The all-out strike does not affect the patients, I can guarantee that, because the sick will receive the best care possible, as before. The problem is that we will have to give up certain surgical operations for chronic patients, that will be canceled or postponed for a few days.

Healthcare employees want the continuation of employment in the field of Health and Social Assistance, the granting of the basic salaries in the grid to all employees, the calculation of all the increments and the hourly rate for night shifts by reference to the paid salary, the calculation of the food allowance by reference to the current minimum gross salary in Romania and the adequate funding of Health and Social Assistance institutions. On June 8, there will be a warning strike with work being interrupted for two hours, and the all-out strike is scheduled for June 15. (LS)

24 May 2023
December 7, 2018 UPDATE

RESHUFFLE – Romanian PM Viorica Dancila announced that the Romanian
government notified the Constitutional Court on its latest reshuffle. President
Klaus Iohannis informed the PM on Thursday by telephone that next week he would
not make any decision on the nomination of the new ministers, the ones for
transportation and regional development. Previously, the head of state had said
that he had not finished analyzing proposals for the Development Ministry, Lia-Olguta
Vasilescu, and the Transportation Ministry, Mihai Draghici. Late last month,
Klaus Iohannis had accepted six proposals for reshuffling made by Dancila for
the ministries of defense, labor, economy, culture, communications, and youth
and sports. The president showed his discontent with the fact that, in two
years of governing, the ruling coalition replaced around 70 ministers.
Constitutional Court Judges expect the opinions in this matter until December
13.

HEALTHCARE – Romanian Health Minister Sorina Pintea took over the rotating
Presidency of the European Union Council from her Austrian counterpart, Beate
Hartinger-Klein. Romania seeks to ensure access to healthcare to all EU
citizens. Romania’s term in office includes five priorities in the healthcare
field: anti-bacterial resistance, vaccination, equal access to medication,
patient mobility and eHealth. On Thursday, LAbour Minister Marius Budaialso took
over the Presidency of the Employment, Social Policy, Healthcare and Consumer
Council.

SALARY RAISE – The Romanian Government on Friday passed a law to increase the
gross minimum wage and the salary for workers with higher education. Starting
January 1, 2019, the gross minimum wage will go up to some 450 euros, while
workers with higher education will have their salaries increased to 500 euros.
Also on Friday, the Government decided to give holiday vouchers worth 310 euros
for public sector employees in 2019 and 2020. This year some 1.2 million
Romanians in the public system benefited from these vouchers. In September
alone this year, the number of tourists seeking accommodation went up 14%
compared to last year in the same period.

TRANSPORTATION – The Transportation Ministry in Bucharest applied with the EC
for financing for 15 infrastructure projects, a total of 4.8 billion Euro, as
announced by Transportation Minister Lucian Sova. Two of the projects, the
metro line to the main airport in Bucharest, and the Bucharest Beltway, are
defined as major projects, worth around 1.5 billion Euro. From the beginning of
the year to the present, three portions of highway have been inaugurated, for a
total length of 40 km, and 14 more km are expected to be inaugurated as part of
Transylvania Highway, and six km of the Bucharest- Ploiesti highway.

MILITARY – Romanian Chief of Staff of the armed forces, General Nicolae
Ciuca, met with some of the enlisted men part of the Anti-air Defense Squadron
‘Black Bats’, deployed to Poland as part of the US led NATO Combat Group. The
squadron is made up of 120 soldiers providing forward consolidated presence, by
rotation, in the northeast of NATO, in line with measures taken at the Warsaw
Summit. During his visit to Poland, General Ciuca spoke to his Polish
counterpart, Lieutenant General Rajmund Andrzejczak, on identifying new
areas of cooperation between the armed forces of the two countries, and
diversifying means of training in common.

VISIT – Senate Speaker
Calin Popescu-Tariceanu is on an official visit to Poland over December 6-8.
The Romanian official met with Polish President Andrzej Duda and other
high-ranking officials. The Senate Speaker praised the dialogue between the two
countries’ Parliaments and highlighted the projects run jointly. Tariceanu
referred to the Romania-Poland-Turkey Trilateral and the B9 Bucharest Format.
At the same time Tariceanu expressed an interest to boost bilateral economic
relations. Tariceanu will also go to Gdansk for meetings with Polish officials
and businessmen.

SCHENGEN – EuroMPs will be debating on Monday, and voting Tuesday, a
resolution calling on the EU Council to make a quick and positive decision on
including Bulgaria and Romania in the Schengen Space as full members. The
European Parliament approved making the two countries part of Schengen in June
2011, and confirmed this stance several times afterward. The final decision has
to be made unanimously in the EU Council. The two countries joining the free
movement space was repeatedly postponed because of opposition from some member
countries, for reason of delays in judicial reform.

OSCE – State Secretary
with the Romanian Foreign Ministry, Dan Neculaescu, attended over December 6-7
the meeting of the OSCE Ministerial Council hosted by Milan, Italy. The
Romanian official expressed concern with the deterioration of the security
context at European level, marked by the conflict in Ukraine, the frozen
conflicts in the Black Sea region and the erosion of the conventional arms
control. Dan Neculaescu reiterated Romania’s firm support to solving the crisis
in Ukraine, including through active participation as part of the OSCE’s
Special Monitoring Mission. Dan Neculaescu expressed readiness to cooperate
closely with the Slovakian presidency of the OSCE during Romania’s term at the
helm of the European Union Council in 2019.

TENNIS – The first Grand Slam of 2019, the Australian Open, will take
place in Melbourne between January 14 and 27. In the women’s competition,
Romania has six players going there: Simona Halep, number 1 in the world and
top player of 2018, Mihaela Buzarnescu, 24, Irina Begu (67 WTA), Ana Bogdan (76
WTA), Sorana Cîrstea (85 WTA) and Monica Niculescu (100 WTA). In the men’s
competition, Romania will be represented by 60th seeded Marius Copil. Also
present in the competition are current cup holder, Danish Caroline Wozniacki, 3
WTA, Serena Williams, 16 WTA, and Maria Sharapova, 29 WTA.

(Translated
by C. Cotoiu & V. Palcu)

7 December 2018
Unified Pay Scale, under Debate

The new law on the unified pay scale for the public sector will be a parliamentary initiative endorsed by all the partners in the ruling coalition, the Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu announced. He added that the bill will most likely be discussed and voted on by Parliament this week. The Prime Minister also said he wanted a fair law, enabling all employees to get paid in relation to their responsibilities. Sorin Grindeanu:

“This is an extremely important bill for us, and a measure that all Romanians have long been waiting for. It will be a parliamentary initiative of all the Senators and Deputies in the ruling coalition.”

On the other hand, the interim leader of the National Liberal Party in opposition, Raluca Turcan, says the Cabinet should ask for a vote of confidence on this bill.

“It would be a good idea for this Cabinet to send the clearest possible message and say, yes, we have the money for around 7 billion euros worth of pay rises. I would like the Parliament of Romania to discuss this issue in as serious and principled manner as possible, so that the people should know whether the budget allows for this pay rise.”

Turcan argues that Romania’s economic state is not the best, and that the business environment is under unprecedented pressure at present. In her opinion, Romania needs predictability, in order for its business environment to be strengthened and to be able to consolidate the budget, through revenues generated in due time.

In turn, Finance Minister Viorel Stefan added that he was first waiting to see the budget execution figures for the first quarter, so as to assess the impact of salary rises when the unified pay scale law takes effect. He explained that this is a very important law, and it should be immediately enacted, in order to ensure the stability of the Romanian public sector pay scale. The Finance Minister explained that the bill must be discussed by Parliament, because so far only government decrees have been passed in this respect, which has generated confusions with respect to salaries in the public sector.

The leader of the Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, announced that the new bill will be signed on Thursday, in the central Romanian town of Sinaia, by the leaders of the ruling coalition and MPs. According to him, under the new law the ratio between the lowest and the highest salary in Romania will drop from 1 to 15 at present to 1 to 12. The highest paid will be the head of state, followed by the speakers of the two Chambers of Parliament, and the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

The Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu has recently said, after negotiations with trade unions in the public sector regarding the new bill, that salaries in the public sector will be raised gradually until 2021, and that the only category to benefit from full pay rises in 2018 will be the public healthcare staff. The authorities want the new law to come into force on July 1. (Translated by A.M. Popescu)

4 April 2017
January 6, 2017 UPDATE

LAW – The President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, Friday signed into law a bill scrapping 102 charges and fees, after the Chamber of Deputies, the decision-making body in this respect, rejected his request to have the bill revised. Previously, the head of state had also challenged the law with the Constitutional Court. The charges in question include the public radio and television license fee, the environment fee charged on second-hand vehicles, a number of consular and citizenship fees, and the ones for the re-issue or the amendment of certain documents.

LOCAL WEATHER – The east of Romania remains subject to a code yellow alert against blizzard and snowstorms until Saturday. Snowfalls will not be substantial, but the wind is expected to reach 50 – 60 km/h and even 70 km/h in places. Several counties in the east and south-east of the country were subject to red code and orange code alerts against bad weather. The Interior Minister, Carmen Dan, announced that a person died, because the ambulance arrived too late. Tens of national roads were closed down and hundreds of villages and towns were left in the dark by power shortages. Railway traffic was temporarily suspended in the south east, while several other trains, connecting Bucharest to other European capital cities and Romanian destinations were cancelled.

WEATHER IN EUROPE – Blizzard and extremely low temperatures are also reported in the Republic of Moldova, where a code orange alert against heavy snowfalls is in force, in the centre and the south. Operations in the international commodity and passenger port Giurgiuleşti were suspended and several checkpoints on the Romanian and Ukrainian borders were closed down. The heavy snowfalls and blizzard also disrupted air traffic at the Chisinau International Aiport. Flights from and to Bucharest, London, Istanbul and Moscow reported delays and some were cancelled altogether. The situation is similar in central Europe. Poland is swept by a wave of cold, with temperatures dropping to minus 25 degrees Celsius. Heavy snowfalls are reported in the northern half of Italy and Germany is facing the same situation, with a high risk of flooding. Bad weather is also reported in Denmark, Sweden and Croatia.

Govt – The Government of Romania Friday approved an increase of the national minimum wage from about 280 euros to 320 euro as of February 1. According to a news release issued by the Government, the measure will raise the economic growth rate by a rough 0.2% and will encourage employment. At the same time, the document reads, the increase will have a notable social impact, helping to raise living standards and bridging social gaps. Also, the salaries of artists and the personnel of performing arts institutions were raised by 50%. The Government also raised public pensions, with the minimum guaranteed social pensions set to reach 115 euros as of March 1.

STRIKE – The coal workers at the Lupeni pit in the Jiu Valley area in south-western Romania Friday resumed the protest they had suspended on Thursday night, disgruntled with not seeing any of their demands met. Among other things, they want solutions to be found for the supply of strictly necessary materials underground, and want the management to give up plans to idle the employees for a one-week period each. Several miners and trade union leaders are on hunger strike.

(translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

6 January 2017
Welfare Measures in Romania

More than 650,000 state employees now have salaries higher by 10%, under an Government emergency ordinance passed in early June this year. The Labour Minister Dragos Paslaru had stated back then that the Ordinance would do away with all inequities in the public payment system, with provisions to be enforced in two stages, starting August 1st 2016 and December 2017 respectively. Starting August 1st this year, 163,000 people from the health-care system benefit from increases ranging from 70 to 200 Euro.

The education sector too is now benefiting from the provisions of a new scheme, aimed at bridging the gaps in the system. Therefore, a teacher with advanced higher education and a seniority between one and six years will get a base salary of some 520 Euro, and a junior teacher will get up to 470 Euro. A university professor with 6 to 10 years seniority will get a base salary ranging between 660 and 770 Euro and will grow gradually, to eventually reach, in the case of those with over 40 years of seniority, some 1500 Euro.

According to the Ministry of Labour, in the education system only half of the new provisions get into force now, and the rest will be implemented next year. Also as of August 1st, the Romanian Government introduced a bonus system in the health-care system, depending on specialization, training and seniority. Therefore, doctors will get salaries ranging from 525 Euro to 650 Euro, and nurses between 430 Euro and 540 Euro. Doctors working for the paramedics systems or in emergency units will get up to 1200 Euro.

Provisions regarding new child rearing benefits also came into force on August 1st . The minimum cap is 230 Euro, and there is now a maximum cap as of July 1st. Benefiting from this are the parents who stay at home with their babies, providing they registered taxable incomes for a period of at least 12 months in the past two years. They will get 85% of the net income obtained in this period. And, also starting this month, the VAT drops to 9% for several agricultural products and services, such as the delivery of pesticides, seeds and fertilizers. According to statistics, more than 3 million employees, accounting for 65% of the total of 4.7 million now have net salaries below 440 Euro, which means that they are paid under the current average salary in Romania.

1 August 2016
December 29, 2015 UPDATE

SALARY INCREASE – The Labour Ministry has drafted a Government ordinance providing for an increase of the minimum salary to 276 euros starting May 1, 2016. The document has been greenlighted by the Economic and Social Council and will be discussed by the Government on Wednesday. Official figures reveal that the number of employees to benefit from this increase stands at 1.1 million people, of which 40,000 in the public sector and the rest in the competitive sector. The Labour Ministry estimates the increase will positively impact economic growth by stimulating employment and cutting back on illegal labour. With its current minimum salary of 230 euros, Romania has the second-lowest salary at EU level after Bulgaria. The highest salary in the EU is 1,900 euros in Luxembourg, while Germany and France are second and third-placed with 1,470 euros.

DECISION – The Moldovan Constitutional Court on Tuesday ruled that the decree of president Nicolae Timofti to appoint Ion Sturza as the countrys new Prime Minister observes the constitution. 14 former communist MPs, now members of the Democratic Party, have notified the court, claiming that Nicolae Timofti hadnt consulted their party when appointing Ion Sturza and that the candidate he backed hadnt been agreed by a parliamentary majority. The Parliament in Chisinau will convene on January 4 for the vote of confidence of the new technocratic Cabinet. Following consultations with parliamentary parties, Ion Sturza obtained the support of Democratic MPs only, accounting for 19 of the total of 101 seats in Parliament.

RULING – A Jordanian businessman settled in Romania 20 years ago has been declared persona non grata by the Bucharest court of appeal due to his terrorist activities. He has been denied entry on Romanian territory for 15 years. The Romanian Intelligence Service informs that the Jordanian national supported the Islamic State, lobbying the group online and even trying to legitimise the Paris attacks. The Jordanian businessman was even willing to involve in the terrorists cell actions against Romania. Monitored since 2014, he is to be deported. The decision may be appealed at the High Court of Cassation and Justice.

CORRUPTION – One prime minister, 4 former ministers and 20 current and former MPs from across the political spectrum are among the persons indicted for corruption in Romania in 2015, says the National Anticorruption Directorate. According to preliminary estimates, 2015 saw the largest number of dignitaries prosecuted compared with previous years. The conviction rate in anticorruption cases has remained at 90%. Romanias president Klaus Iohannis said recently that 2016 must be a year of change through a renewal of ideas, practices and politicians, something that cannot be achieved without eradicating corruption.

TRAVEL DESTINATION – Romania is among the top 16 up-and-coming travel destinations in 2016 in a classification made by the CNN together with travel experts. “Central Romania, we find from the stations website, “is engulfed in the soaring Carpathian mountain range, filled with green groves and ski and hiking trails for adventure-heads. The website also mentions the Danube Delta, in the south-east of the country, which is home to many protected species and which can be explored by boat. The city of Cluj Napoca, in the west, is described as “a hotly-tipped future art scene. Other top destinations in Romania recommended by the CNN are Transylvanias “vast and varied landscapes, where tourists can also visit the Bran Castle, linked to Bram Stokers fictitious character Dracula.

RSF – 67 journalists have been killed in the world in 2015 because of their profession, according to a report published by the Reporters without Borders non-governmental organisation. The most dangerous countries for journalists are Iraq and Syria, where 9 journalists were killed in each of them, followed by France, where 8 journalists were killed in February in an attack on the Charlie Hebdo publication. 27 bloggers and 7 media contributors were also assassinated, according to Reporters without Borders. The organisation says a total of 110 persons were killed in 2015, a figure which also includes “suspicious deaths, compared with 66 in 2014. Reporters without Borders also deplores the fact that the circumstances in which many reporters were killed are still not clear.

TERRORIST THREAT – Two persons suspected of planning terrorist attacks in Brussels on New Years Eve have been arrested by the Belgian authorities. The terrorist threat level has been raised to 3. Germany and Austria are also on alert, following an announcement by the Austrian police on Saturday that it received a warning from a “friendly foreign secret service about possible attacks in several European capitals in the period between Christmas and New Years. Moscows Red Square, a traditional place for New Years Eve celebrations, will this year be closed to the public on the evening of the 31st of December for fear of terrorist attacks.

WEATHER – Temperatures are dropping in Romania, not exceeding 8 degrees. Snow has been reported in the mountains. After some wonderful weather around Christmas, with 15 degrees Celsius, the weather will start to cool, dropping to minus 10 around New Years. Temperatures will stay low until January 3rd, especially at night and in the morning, in the centre, north and some areas in the south.

29 December 2015
Salary Rise in the Romanian Healthcare System

The situation of the Romanian healthcare system is among the few issues to spark off such passion in public debates. Patients and their relatives point a finger to the bad conditions in hospitals and to the incompetence, ill- meaning attitude or rudeness of the healthcare staff, from janitors to hospital directors. Doctors and nurses in their turn complain about the prolonged under-financing of the system, the lack of equipment and the small salaries.

The Romanian government announced it would try to correct part of these abnormalities and decided to raise the salaries of almost 200 thousand people in the field by 25% as of October 1st. The measure will be adopted next week in a government session, said the Social Democrat prime minister Victor Ponta. He said other increases would follow so that by 2017 salaries will double. The measure, the PM added, is possible thanks to the money saved due to the introduction of the obligatory health cards this year.

Also next week the government will send to Parliament a draft law that should state the conditions in which patients can offer doctors small “gifts which many simply call “bribe. The Justice Ministry will draft a bill that shall stipulate the conditions in which patients can give further contributions to those who treated them. Therefore receiving further contributions will not be illegal if they are not conditioned by the doctor or nurse, if they are granted after the completion of the medical act and if they are declared by the recipient for taxation purposes.

The friendly measures taken by the government come against the backdrop of increasing discontent in the healthcare system. Thus over 16 thousand doctors have joined an initiative group set up on a social network where they talk about their small salaries and a possible all-out strike.

The co-president of the National Liberal Party, in opposition, Alina Gorghiu, accuses the government of having gone on a populist move, which will make Romania hard to govern shortly. The claims for salary rises are justified but they cannot be met simultaneously because they will affect the financial stability of the country- the Liberal politician also added. She warned that increasing salaries in the healthcare system would trigger off similar claims by other categories of state employees.

And she was right. The police trade union leaders have also asked for a 25% rise in their salaries. The education trade unions have hailed the measure to increase the medical staffs wage and have requested a similar pay rise for teachers. Trade unionists say that pay rises for certain categories to the detriment of other categories have already led to increased discontent among employees in the education system, which could cause protest actions, now, less than a month before the start of the new school year.

19 August 2015