Radio România Internațional

Tag: unified pay scale

  • Unified Pay Scale Law, in Parliament

    Unified Pay Scale Law, in Parliament

    Just weeks after the unions negotiated with the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, the bill on the unified pay scale in the public sector has reached the Parliament of Romania, for debates and endorsement. Eagerly awaited by many Romanians, the document stipulates an average increase of monthly incomes by over 50% in the next 5 years. Total pay rises will amount to 7 billion euros.



    PM Sorin Grindeanu announced that talks with trade unions and other stakeholders would continue in Parliament, in order to shorten the time needed for the bill to be endorsed: “The importance of this law and the deadline that we set for this in our governing programme, namely by the end of the second quarter, made us table this text in its current form in Parliament.”



    The draft law, which is scheduled to come into force on July 1, targets all public institutions, except for the National Bank of Romania and the Financial Supervision Authority. The Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu said the first pay rises would be operated in the police and military sector: “The basic pay of military personnel will be raised by 20%. The basic pay of police workers will go up by 5%. On January 1, 2018, full salary increases will be operated for physicians and nurses. The basic salaries for teaching staff will increase by 50% as against December 2017. Basic salaries for the civil service staff in public institutions and local administration will be increased as of January 1, 2018.”



    Some unions challenge the bill on the unified pay scale in the public sector. The National Federation of Police and Interior Ministry Trade Unions demanded the resignation of the Labour Minister, after the latter announced that police salaries would only be raised by 5%, whereas the rank benefits for military personnel would go up 20%. The unionists argue that the bill drafted by the Labour Minister generates discontent, confusion and tensions among police workers, who feel discriminated against and want their work to be appreciated in the same manner.



    The highest salary in the public sector will be paid to the president of the country and will account for 12 national minimum wages. The salaries of top civil servants will drop, but those of the MPs, judges and prosecutors will be raised.


    (Translated by Ana Maria Popescu)

  • Opinions on the Unified Pay Scale Law

    Opinions on the Unified Pay Scale Law

    In many respects, Romania is a paradox. For instance, salaries in Romania don’t scale while reflecting the importance of the activity in question, the employee’s school and university degrees, accumulated service or professional experience. Over the years this has led to numerous anomalies surfacing in numerous cases that have scandalized the public, which are hard to imagine they would ever occur in another EU member state.



    The current ruling coalition, made up of the Social-Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, wants to do away with these inconsistencies by drafting a law on the unified pay scale for public sector employees. More to the point, the Social-Democrats want the new law to take effect as soon as possible, therefore by seeking Parliament’s vote of confidence on this move, so that public sector employees might benefit from a salary increase as early as July 1. Social-Democrat leader Liviu Dragnea explained that salaries would be increased in stages over the next five years, and the increase will be calculated depending on the national minimum wage.



    Liviu Dragnea: “By 2020 the budget for salaries will get a 56% increase, accounting for 32 billion lei, and the process will continue in 2021 and 2022, so that starting 2023 we will have only two criteria for increasing salaries”.



    On the other hand, Varujan Vosganian, a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats, says the unified pay scale cannot take effect before 2018, because the move requires complex debates in Parliament: “I don’t believe the law can come into effect in 2017. It might come into effect in 2018, and its scope might be extended to 2022”.



    The opposition has challenged the initiative, deeming it undoable, arguing the funds are insufficient to sustain the high number of salary hikes. In turn, National Bank Governor Mugur Isarescu says the salary increase is necessary, although it must be kept in check, given that Romania achieved its current economic and financial stability at great cost.



    Mugur Isarescu: “Salary increases are inevitable. What we must do is be wise about it and keep them in check in a reasonable manner, taking into account all the indicators pertaining the macroeconomic and financial stability. These are very valuable to us. Romania got here by sacrificing a lot and it would be wrong for us to weaken our current position”.



    Under the new unified pay scale, high-ranking officials will have the highest salaries: first the President, then the Prime Minister, followed by the speakers of the two chambers of Parliament, the president of the High Court of Cassation and Justice and the president of the Constitutional Court of Romania. The second best-paid social category will include university rectors, hospital managers and judges, followed by medical staff and university teachers. The law also provides for a substantial increase of salaries in the education, healthcare, cultural, military and diplomacy sectors.


    (Translated by Vlad Palcu)

  • Unified Pay Scale, under Debate

    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)