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Tag: unified pay law

  • 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)

  • April 10, 2017

    April 10, 2017

    UNIFIED PAY LAW — Romanian labour minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, has announced a bill on the unified pay scale for state sector employees will be sent today to Parliament, where changes can be brought- to the initial text, also by the trade unions. The Labour Ministry says the military and policemen will be the first to receive pay-rises, as of July 1. The other categories of state sector employees will receive pay-rises as of January 1, 2018. According to the bill, the president will get the highest salary, which will be the equivalent of 12 national minimum wages.



    VISIT — The Speaker of the Romanian Senate, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, is today meeting in Brussels with the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the EU Commissioner for Justice, Věra Jourová. The agenda of talks covers such issues as the future of the European Union, Brexit and the stage of monitoring Romania’s judicial system. Tariceanu has been constantly pleading for lifting the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism, CVM, imposed by the EU in 2007, when Romania joined the community bloc. Talks are held against the backdrop of sustained political efforts that Romania should make to support its national interest at Euroepan level, taking into consideration the important role played by Parliaments of the EU member states in shaping up the future of the Union — a communiqué issued by the Senate shows.



    HOLY WEEK – Christian believers the world over, among which those in Romania, a country with a majority Orthodox population, today enter the Holy Week, ahead of Easter. Special masses are celebrated every evening, the most important ones being those given on Maundy Thursday and Good Friday. This year, Orthodox and Catholic believers will celebrate Easter at the same time.



    CAIRO — Egyptian President, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, has declared a state of emergency for a three month period all across the country, following the Coptic church bombings carried out on Palm Sunday, which left over 40 people dead. The Coptic Orthodox believers make up the largest Christian majority in the Middle East, accounting for 10% of the total number of 92 million Egyptians. The Islamic State terrorist group has claimed responsibility for the attacks. Pope Francis, who will pay a visit to Egypt in 20 days time, has prayed for the victims of the attacks and sent a message of condolence to the Patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church and to the whole Egyptian nation. The Romanian Foreign Ministry has firmly condemned the terrorist attacks in Egypt.



    PARIS — The presidential election campaign has officially started in France today. The election will be held on April 23, with a run-off on 7 May 2017 if no candidate secures an absolute majority of the vote in the first round. According to the latest polls, the first four candidates credited with the highest chances in the French election are the representative of the far-right wing, Marine Le Pen, centrist Emmanuel Macron, the right wing candidate François Fillon and the candidate of the radical left-wing, Jean-Luc Mélenchon.



    SUMMIT— Leaders of seven countries in southern Europe, France, Cyprus Greece, Italy, Portugal, Malta and Spain are today meeting in Madrid for talks on the future of the EU, post Brexit. The seven leaders are expected to take a common stand, which will later be shared with the other 20 EU member states. According to the correspondent of Radio Romania “News and Current Affairs” Channel, RRA, a final declaration should include two main ideas: negotiations should lead to a better relation between the Union and Great Britain and not to put in jeopardy people’s individual rights. The summit is held three weeks ahead of the European Council due on April 29, which is to define the main lines of negotiation to put Brexit into practice. The officials will also approach such issues as the situation in Syria, following the US missile strike, security and defence in the Mediterranean Sea area.

  • April 9, 2017 UPDATE

    April 9, 2017 UPDATE

    UNIFIED PAY LAW – The unified pay law for state sector employees will be submitted to Parliament on Sunday, for debate, so it may take effect as of July 1. The bill creates equal conditions for all those who carry out the same activity and have the same seniority. Another principle is that of creating a scale, a hierarchy, for heads of institutions not to have smaller salaries than their subordinates. The bill also sets a timetable for the pay- rises to be made in the following years. The ratio between the smallest and the highest salary in the Romanian state sector will be 1/12. The political opposition in Bucharest contests this unified pay law drafted by the coalition Government made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, saying it is unrealistic, as there is not enough money to cover all pay rises. In turn, the governor of the National Bank of Romania, Mugur Isarescu, says the pay-rises are necessary but they should be kept in check, given that Romania managed to secure the current economic and financial balance at high costs.



    STOCKHOLM ATTACK VICTIM – Bishop Macarie Dragoi, the representative of the Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe on Sunday visited the Romanian woman who got injured in Fridays Stockholm attack. The woman, 83, was hit by fragments of concrete projected by the truck which rammed into a group of people. She suffered a double leg fracture. The Orthodox Diocese of Northern Europe writes in a communiqué that bishop Macarie has encouraged the woman and assured her of his entire support. 4 people got killed and 15 others were wounded in the Stockholm attack. The Romanian Foreign Ministry firmly condemned the attack and reiterated Romanias commitment to the effort of combating all forms of terrorism.



    HOLY WEEK – Christian believers the world over, among which those in Romania, a country with a majority Orthodox population, on Monday enter the Holy Week, the week immediately before Easter. The Holy Week, was preceded by Palm Sunday, which celebrates Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. On Palm Sunday, thousands of Orthodox and Catholic believers attended the traditional Palm Sunday processions, carrying icons, willow tree branches and flowers. This year, orthodox and Catholic believers will celebrate Easter at the same time.



    ROAMING CHARGES – As of June 15, roaming charges will no longer be applied to European citizens travelling to another EU member state. Thus, the Europeans will be able to call, text and go online in another EU country without paying extra-charges. European mobile users will thus be charged the same price for using their phone while abroad as they pay in their country of residence. The European Commission has taken action for 10 years to reduce and finally eliminate extra-charges imposed by telecommunication operators, and last week, the European MPs eliminated the last obstacle in the effort to completely eliminate roaming charges.



    ROAD TAXES – The National Road Company of Romania intends to notify the European Commission relative to the new system of cashing in road taxes instated by Bulgaria. Sofia eliminated the possibility of purchasing the road vignette from petrol stations, a move which results in long queues of trucks at the Giurgiu-Ruse border checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria. According to the company, the Bulgarian side has so far rejected all proposals made by Romania in an effort to ease traffic. Giurgiu-Ruse is the main border checkpoint between Romania and Bulgaria, and is transited by over 1,000 trucks a day.



    CHURCH BOMBINGS – The Islamic State Jihadist group has claimed responsibility for Sundays church bombings in Egypt, which left scores of dead and over 100 others injured. The bombings hit two Coptic churches in Tanta and Alexandria, respectively, while the believers were celebrating Palm Sunday. Coptic believers are making up the largest Christian community in the Middle East, accounting for some 10% of the total population of 92 million Egyptians.



    SYRIA – Russian and Iranian Presidents, Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rohani, respectively, on Sunday had a phone conversation, condemning the recent US strikes on a Syrian air-base. The US cruise missile strikes came in response to a suspected chemical weapons attack in north-western Syria.Vladimir Putin and Hassan Rohani have underlined the US aggressive actions against a sovereign state are unacceptable and running counter to the rule of law. The two presidents called for an objective investigation to be made in order to cast light on the circumstances in which the chemical attack occurred. Russia and Iran are the main supporters of the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. The US ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, has said on CNN that President Donald Trump does not rule out the possibility of imposing new sanctions on Russia and Iran for the support they provide to the Syrian leader. Washington made public its intention to launch further attacks if need be, but it expressed hope this will not be necessary.

  • March 11, 2017 UPDATE

    March 11, 2017 UPDATE

    EUROPEAN COUNCIL– The EU leaders have made public their intention to re-launch the Union after the Brexit, and a document on the Unions future, the so-called White Paper, is to be adopted at a meeting due in Rome on March 25. The joint declaration and the prospective inclusion in the text of the concept of a multi-speed Europe have been among the issues discussed at the Brussels summit, where Romania was represented by President Klaus Iohannis. He said he had told some of his peers attending the Council meeting that a multi-speed Europe for an indefinite period of time is not a good solution, because it might lead to the Unions split. Romania shouldnt however have fears relative to multi-speed projects, such as the one regarding the European Prosecutor, the president also said. The European Council President, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, have explained that the formula “a multi-speed Europe has been misunderstood. Donald Tusk has said that everything can actually be reduced to the formula “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, we go together.



    UNIFIED PAY LAW – Fresh talks will be held in Bucharest next week between the government and trade unions on the unified pay law for state sector employees. The draft is to be finalised by the end of the month. So far, the government has held talks with trade unions in the education, healthcare and social assistance, with those in the domain or public order and safety, with representatives of cultural institutes as well as with trade unions with the Labour Ministry. The first to benefit from pay-rises will be doctors and nurses. Some of the novelties included in the draft law include granting the equivalent of two minimum national wages per year, to buy foodstuffs, to all state sector employees and a so-called holiday gift voucher.



    EXERCISE – An extensive international intervention exercise in case of heavy flooding is unfolding until Sunday in Timis County, western Romania. The exercise enjoys European financing and the participation of trainers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. Attending are also support teams from several countries like Austria, Germany, France and Latvia. According to the head of the Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, the exercise is like a test to see whether teams from several countries can cooperate to intervene in case of disaster.



    COMMEMORATION – Spaniards on Saturday commemorated the victims of the terror attacks of March 11, 2004, in Madrid, which killed 191 people, among whom 16 Romanians, and left some 2,000 others injured. On the same day, several bombs went off in 4 commuter trains in the stations of Atocha, El Pozo and Santa Eugenia. The masterminds of the attacks are still unknown to the present day. The trial came to a close in 2007, with the victims relatives and the survivors saying the sentences were much too easy. It was the severest terror attack in Spain which led to the withdrawal of Spanish forces from Iraq. After this bloody attack, the European Parliament declared March 11 the European Day of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism.



    RUGBY – Romanias national rugby team on Saturday defeated Belgium, 33-17, in the fourth round of the Rugby Europe Championship, a competition which, as of this year, replaces the former European Nations Cup, the second most important continental rugby tournament, after the Six Nations Tournament. In the matches played so far, Romania defeated Russia away from home, outperformed Spain on home soil, but it surprisingly lost to Germany, away from home. In the world classification, Romania ranks 16th and Belgium 27th.


    JUDO– Romanian woman judoka Larisa Florian has won the gold medal in the 52 kg category, at the Grand Slam tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to the official site of the Romanian Judo Federation. After grabbing a bronze medal in Dusseldorf, Germany, Larisa Florian manages to score a new exceptional result, thus joining the Top 10 of the best athletes in the world in the 52 kg category. Larisa Florian is among the Romanian young talents considered to stand high chances to get a medal in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Translated by D. Vijeu)

  • March 11, 2017

    March 11, 2017

    EUROPEAN COUNCIL– The EU leaders have made public their intention to re-launch the Union after the Brexit, and a document on the Union’s future, the so-called White Paper, is to be adopted at a meeting due in Rome on March 25. The joint declaration and the prospective inclusion in the text of the concept of a multi-speed Europe have been among the issues discussed at the Brussels summit, where Romania was represented by President Klaus Iohannis. He said he had told some of his peers attending the Council meeting that a multi-speed Europe for an indefinite period of time is not a good solution, because it might lead to the Union’s split. Romania shouldn’t however have fears relative to multi-speed projects, such as the one regarding the European Prosecutor, the president also said. The European Council President, Donald Tusk, and the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, have explained that the formula “a multi-speed Europe” has been misunderstood. Donald Tusk has said that everything can actually be reduced to the formula “if you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, we go together.”



    UNIFIED PAY LAW — Fresh talks will be held in Bucharest next week between the government and trade unions on the unified pay law for state sector employees. The draft is to be finalised by the end of the month. So far, the government has held talks with trade unions in the education, healthcare and social assistance, with those in the domain or public order and safety, with representatives of cultural institutes as well as with trade unions with the Labour Ministry. The first to benefit from pay-rises will be doctors and nurses. Some of the novelties included in the draft law include granting the equivalent of two minimum national wages per year, to buy foodstuffs, to all state sector employees and a so-called holiday gift voucher.



    ATTACK THREAT — A mall in the Western German city of Essen has been closed today, because of an attack threat, the local police has announced, without however providing details on the source and type of the threat. In December 2016, 12 people were killed in Berlin by a truck which rammed into a Christmas fair crowd. The attack was claimed by the Islamic State terrorist group and was not the only one carried out in Germany and blamed on that Jihadist group. The German intelligence services estimate there are some 10 thousand radical Islamists on German soil, 1,600 of whom being likely to resort to violence.



    RUGBY — Romania’s national rugby team is today meeting Belgium in Brussels, in the fourth round of the Rugby Europe Championship, a competition which, as of this year, replaces the former European Nations’ Cup, the second most important continental rugby tournament, after the Six Nations Tournament. In the matches played so far, Romania defeated Russia away from home, outperformed Spain on home soil, but it surprisingly lost to Germany, away from home. Romania ranks second in the group, after Georgia, with Belgium on the last position. In the world classification, Romania ranks 16th and Belgium 27th.


    JUDO— Romanian woman judoka Larisa Florian has won the gold medal in the 52 kg category, at the Grand Slam tournament held in Baku, Azerbaijan, according to the official site of the Romanian Judo Federation. After grabbing a bronze medal in Dusseldorf, Germany, Larisa Florian manages to score a new exceptional result, thus joining the Top 10 of the best athletes in the world in the 52 kg category. Larisa Florian is among the Romanian young talents considered to stand high chances to get a medal in the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (Translated by D. VIjeu)

  • March 8, 2017 UPDATE

    March 8, 2017 UPDATE

    EUROPEAN COUNCIL – A “multi-speed Europe as a solution to give fresh impetus to the European project after Brexit will be the focus of talks at the European Council meeting due on Thursday and Friday in Brussels, where Romania will be represented by President Klaus Iohannis. The idea, backed by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, is also strongly supported by France and Germany, which were joined on Monday in Versailles by Italy and Spain. Romania will oppose this plan, as the President pointed out once again on Tuesday in Bucharest. Other countries are also concerned with the prospect of becoming second-level member states. These include the members of the Visegrad Group (Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia), who have already opposed Brussels policy on migration.



    PARLIAMENT – The political declaration adopted on Wednesday by the Romanian Parliament, in which judgements by the Romanian President, the Higher Council of Magistracy and representatives of the Public Ministry are deemed as “unconstitutional and unacceptable, can be considered a form of pressure, a communiqué issued by the Presidential Administration shows. According to the same source, this declaration comes as a disquieting signal as to Parliaments vision of the way in which it relates to the other state authorities and institutions, as well as to civil society. On Wednesday, Parliament adopted a declaration aimed to strengthen the role played by this institution and which also denounces interference by the Higher Council of Magistracy and of the force institutions with the governmental and legislative activity. The draft was initiated by the Senate Speaker, Calin Popescu-Tariceanu, after the Constitutional Court rejected in February the notifications made by the Higher Council of Magistracy and President Klaus Iohannis, on the controversial emergency decree no.13, through which the Government tried to amend the Criminal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code. The MPs in the opposition did not agree with the initiative, which they deemed inappropriate.



    MILITARY DRILLS – The Atlantic Resolve and Poseidon 2017 multinational military exercises continued on Wednesday at the “Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase in south-eastern Romania and in the Black Sea. For the first time, 8 American helicopters are taking part in the drills. They were deployed from several European countries, as part of the US commitment to strengthen the eastern flank of NATO. This is the first such unit deployed to Eastern Europe, as part of Operation Atlantic Resolve, which brings together over 2,200 troops, 86 helicopters and over 700 pieces of military equipment sent from several American ports to Germany, Latvia and Romania. Also on Wednesday, a hydrographical survey vessel, Căpitan comandor Alexandru Cătuneanu conducted research training at sea.



    UNIFIED PAY LAW – Representatives of the Romanian teaching staff and auxiliary educational personnel are invited at the Labour Ministry on Thursday for talks on the unified pay law. The line minister, Lia Olguta Vasilescu, has said the law will be adopted by July 1, the pay rises will be made gradually until 2021 and the first raises will take effect as of January 1, 2018. The minister made the clarifications after the talks she held on Tuesday with trade unions in the healthcare system. Trade unionists in healthcare have said the unified pay law is a good one and the raises to be applied next year for the largest part of the medical personnel will stand at 60%, in some cases.



    SOCIAL-DEMOCRATS – The former prime minister of Romania, MP Victor Ponta, on Wednesday made public his decision to tender his undated resignation from the Social Democratic Party, and leaving it to the party president Liviu Dragnea to make a decision in this respect. Ponta added that he and Dragnea can no longer work together. In response, Dragnea has said he does not want the former Prime Minister to leave the party, adding that he will never sign his resignation. The declarations come after many speculations in the media regarding the cold relations between the two leading Social Democrats. In 2015, Ponta became the first PM in office to be subject to criminal investigations for corruption offences, and in the same year he stepped down as head of the party and of the government, amid massive street protests. Dragnea took over the presidency of the Social Democratic Party. In 2016, Dragnea himself received a suspended 2-year prison sentence, for attempted election fraud, and is currently on trial in a separate corruption case.



    TRAVEL SHOW – 40 tour-operators from Romania are taking part until Sunday in the Berlin Travel Trade Show, the largest such fair in the world. According to a news release issued by the Romanian Tourism Ministry, destinations from around the country will be presented. Romanias stand will also host egg painting demonstrations, and folk costume design and traditional jewellery workshops. During a Romanian-themed evening, traditional Romanian music, dance and cuisine will be introduced to visitors. The Tourism Minister, Mircea-Titus Dobre, is taking part today, on the first day of the trade show, in the Silk Road Ministers Meeting, an event organised by the World Tourism Organisation. Tomorrow, the Romanian official will have meetings with his counterparts from Poland, Serbia, and Ukraine, and then he will give an address at the Danube Salon, a conference devoted to joint projects by Danube riparian countries in the field of tourism. Romania has been taking part in this trade show since 1970.



    INTL WOMENS DAY – The International Womens Day was celebrated on March 8, in many countries. In Romania, where according to the latest data made public by the National Statistics Institute more than 10 million women live, women were celebrated in a series of debates, exhibitions, concerts, book launches and other events. The European Parliament hosted a meeting of the Committee on Womens Rights and Gender Equality, with the theme Womens Economic Empowerment: Lets Act Together! the International Womens Day was first marked in the early 20th Century, after an organisation sponsored a meeting on womens rights in New York.(Translated by AM Popescu and D. Vijeu)