Radio România Internațional

Tag: salary rises

  • Romania’s economy, assessments and forecasts

    Romania’s economy, assessments and forecasts

    In the spring economic outlook made public on Thursday, the European Commission maintains Romania’s estimated growth rate at 4.5%, which it describes as “robust”, and forecasts the GDP will increase by 3.9% in 2019. This is a lucid analysis, coming from outside the country, says economic expert Constantin Rudniţchi, who explains:



    “What we can notice in Romania’s case is that economic growth is further reported at a fast pace, but, a decrease is estimated, on the other hand, so attention should be paid to the issue. Whether we registered a 7% economic growth rate last year, the forecast for this year is 4.5% and the outlook for 2019 is 3.9%. Once more, these are good figures, but there is an overall downward trend, as lower figures are being reported.”



    The European Commission also notes that Romania’s budget deficit will stand at 3.4% of the GDP in 2018 and will increase to 3.8% in 2019, mostly because of the pay rises in the public sector. Here is Constantin Rudniţchi again:



    “The European Commission’s forecast shows that there are doubts on Romania’s maintaining its budget deficit at this level. I would like to mention here the fact that last year, too, experts believed Romania’s budget deficit would deepen, but in the end the line authorities, managed to keep it at 3% of the GDP. It is true, however, that public investments were cut, as figures show it clearly. I am afraid that this year, too, part of the public investment will be slashed in order to keep the budget deficit within the limits stipulated by the Maastricht Treaty, which means that the Romanian economy is currently channelling larger amounts of money for salaries and less for investments.”



    As regards the inflation rate, the European Commission estimates that it will continue to follow an upward trend, although figures will no longer be that high in 2019. The favourite topic of discussions over the past few months, particularly during domestic political rows, the growing inflation rate has however some external causes behind it, which have nothing to do with the Government’s and the central bank’s actions. This is the opinion shared by the leader of the ruling Social Democratic Party, Liviu Dragnea, who on Thursday attended a meeting with Prime Minister Viorica Dăncilă and the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isărescu. Liviu Dragnea:



    “Both the Government and the National Bank have agreed that the inflation rate has gone up during this period of time due to external factors. We are referring to factors from outside the Government and the National Bank- and I can give you some examples: natural gas, energy, oil- which have a huge impact on the inflation rate and which can’t be managed by the Government or the National Bank.”



    Liviu Dragnea has said that big infrastructure projects will be started in Romania in the second half of 2019.


    (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • On the unified pay law

    On the unified pay law

    Following heated debates, the controversial unified pay bill assumed by the leftist government in Bucharest has been eventually green-lighted. Questions over the bill had emerged after the labor minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, announced that pay rises for all public sector employees would no longer be applied as of July 1, as scheduled, but as of January 1, 2018. She explained that there were many amendments accepted by Parliament, which would have exceeded the amount of 32 billion lei, that is 7 billion euros, provided for this purpose for the period 2017-2022.



    In comparison with the initial version of the bill, pay rises in the healthcare and education systems in Romania have been postponed, therefore doctors, nurses and teachers will receive the promised integral pay rises as of March 2018 and not as of January 1. The postponement was needed to allow for the financial support of the bill, explained the Finance Minister Viorel Stefan. Further modifications have been brought to the unified pay bill, among which increments of 10% for teachers for neuropsychological stress and 55% increments for public servants in charge of managing European funds.



    In exchange, the 40% increase for military staff, policemen and public servants with a special status that need to intervene outside the normal work schedule was eliminated. Although they are included in the public sector employees category, elected officials will nevertheless benefit from pay rises as of July 1 this year. The labor minister explains:



    “Salaries in the education system will be increased by 15%, in the healthcare system by 15%, in the local administration by 20%. Last month there was a 20% increase for the employees of environment agencies, the Danube Delta Biosphere Reserve, the Consumers’ Protection Agency and now, as of July 1, there will be a new pay scale not only for elected officials but also for the employees of the local public administration.”



    Taken by surprise and discontented with the announced postponement of pay rises, trade unionists with the Cartel Alfa Confederation are asking for rises to be applied for all public sector employees. In turn, the main opposition party, the National Liberal Party, has criticized the unified pay bill, accusing the government and the majority coalition, made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, of being incoherent. The Save Romania Union in opposition has equally claimed that the bill is a reason of discontent for all categories of public sector employees and calls for the resignation of the labor minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu. (Translated by L. Simion)