Radio România Internațional

Tag: unitary pay law

  • Controversies surrounding the unitary pay law

    Controversies surrounding the unitary pay law

    The National Liberal Party (PNL), the main opposition party in Romania, has decided to table a simple motion against Labor Minister Olguta Vasilescu for reasons that are mainly related to the salary system. The Liberals are also criticizing the transfer of the payment of social security contributions from employers to employees, a measure that has been in force since the beginning of the year, and claim that this measure has only added to the confusion already existing in the Romanian salary and fiscal systems.



    “Whether they are magistrates, IT staff, teachers, medical doctors or what we call ‘luxury’ public employees, which the Labor Minister has recently mentioned – all these categories will see their salaries cut, because nobody bothered to make an impact study to see what the transfer of social security contributions entails, thats why we are in this situation,” the Liberals said, referring to the fact that salaries are decreasing for several hundred thousand Romanians, in spite of their expected increase, stipulated in the governing programme.



    The employees’ net salaries will go down in several sectors, such as healthcare, culture, police and justice, trade union leaders also warn. Moreover, the leader of the SANITAS trade union federation representing healthcare workers, Viorel Husanu, has said that salaries will decrease in monoprofile hospitals, such as psychiatry, tuberculosis and infectious diseases, and will only increase for physicians, and even in their case the growth is smaller than promised.



    Operative policemen, around 8,000 of them, will also see a decrease in net salaries of around 85 euros, according to the head of the Policemen’s National Trade Union, Dumitru Coarna, according to whom the living standard will go down by 5% to10%. There are unsatisfied employees in the private sector as well, where not all employers have signed addendums to their labor contracts that should stipulate an increase in gross salaries so as decreases in net salaries should be avoided.



    Moreover, 3% of the public system employees have smaller salaries following the enforcement of the law on the salary scheme for the staff paid from public funds. According to Minister Olguta Vasilescu, the purpose of this law has been to balance the public salary system and eliminate major discrepancies, such as different salaries for the same job. There are also happy Romanians, such as the parliament members, whose salaries went up by around 10% starting in February, following an increase in the minimum salary to around 410 euros, as of January 1st.

  • The Week in Review: April 9-15

    The Week in Review: April 9-15

    The private pensions scandal -
    measures and penalties


    The Financial Supervisory
    Authority in Romania on Thursday levelled penalties against NN, the country’s
    biggest private pensions fund for spreading information meant to destabilise
    the pensions system. On Wednesday, NN sent an email to all its clients warning
    about possible measures to nationalise private pensions funds. The leader of
    the Social Democratic Party and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Liviu
    Dragnea said Parliament would soon take steps to sack the entire management of
    the Financial Supervisory Authority. The Finance Ministry has categorically
    denied plans to nationalise the private pensions funds.



    The Serbian police detain former
    Romanian MP Sebastian Ghita in Belgrade


    The former Romanian MP and
    businessman Sebastian Ghita, who was on an international most wanted fugitives
    list, was tracked and detained by the Serbian police on Thursday night in
    Belgrade four months after his disappearance. The Romanian authorities are now taking
    the necessary action to obtain his extradition. When asked for identification
    by the police, he presented false EU ID. Sebastian Ghita disappeared on the 21st
    of December 2016 and was first named on the country’s most wanted fugitives
    list for breaking the conditions of his bail. On the 10th of
    January, a Supreme Court panel issued a European arrest warrant for Ghita, who
    was then also named on an international most wanted fugitives list through
    Interpol. Ghita is facing trial in two corruption cases and is under criminal
    investigation in two others.



    The unitary pay law is yet to
    be submitted to Parliament


    The submission of the
    much-awaited unitary pay law for public sector employees to Parliament for
    debate and approval has been postponed. The leader of the ruling Social
    Democratic Party and Chamber of Deputies speaker Liviu Dragnea said the bill
    will also remain available for public input this week. The bill provides for an
    increase in monthly incomes by more than 50% over the following five years. The
    planned increases are estimated at more than 7 billion euros in total. Prime
    minister Sorin Grindeanu says the talks with trade unions and the institutions
    targeted by the bill will continue in Parliament to speed up the passing of the
    law. The law, which is supposed to come into force on the 1st of
    July, covers all public institutions with the exception of the National Bank of
    Romania and the Financial Supervisory Authority. The army and police staff are
    the first to benefit from the pay rises. The other categories of public sector
    employees will see their salaries grow as of January next year. The president
    will have the biggest salary in the public system, accounting for 12 minimum
    wages per month. The salaries of the highest dignitaries will drop, while those
    of parliamentarians, judges and prosecutors will go up.



    Vaccination bill is made public


    The Romanian healthcare ministry
    on Tuesday published its new vaccination bill. This provides for the creation of
    county vaccination commissions able to step in if parents refuse the compulsory
    immunisation scheme. Healthcare minister Florian Bodog says a chapter
    containing penalties will also be introduced into the bill after public and
    parliamentary debate. He says his ministry will assume responsibility for the
    treatment of the possible side effects of vaccination. According to the
    ministry, 21 persons have died in Romania from measles. Since last September,
    around 4,000 cases have been reported, according to the National Centre for the
    Communicable Disease Surveillance and Control. To contain the spread of
    measles, medical authorities continue a campaign to vaccinate children aged
    between 9 months and 9 years.



    Government adopts country’s
    decentralisation strategy


    The government adopted the
    country’s decentralisation strategy on Wednesday. Deputy Prime Minister Sevil
    Shhaideh says all ministries will carry out impact studies in the next three
    months and that the sectoral laws regulating the decentralisation process will
    be adopted within the next 7 months at the latest. The areas covered by the
    process are agriculture, culture, tourism, the environment, healthcare,
    education and extracurricular activities, youth and sport. The general goal of
    the strategy is the transfer of new responsibilities, with the exception of
    those relating to inspection and control, to local authorities, namely mayors
    and local and county councils. Many of these responsibilities are currently
    held by the ministries’ decentralised directorates.



    Crowding at border check
    points in Romania



    Traffic is busy at Romania’s border crossing
    points following the implementation, on the 7th of April, of a new
    European regulation tightening border control ahead of the Easter holidays.
    Waiting time at the border varies from one to six hours. The busiest
    checkpoints are in the west of the country. The authorities are trying to
    strike a balance between citizen security and traffic flow and recommend the
    use of all border checkpoints. To support Romanian citizens travelling abroad
    during the Easter holidays, the foreign ministry has made available a travel
    guide containing useful recommendations, information about the most frequented
    tourist destinations at this time of the year, as well as information that can
    help Romanian citizens avoid possible unpleasant situations that may appear
    during their stay abroad.

  • March 10, UPDATE

    March 10, UPDATE

    European Council summit — The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said Friday after the European Council meeting that he explained to the EU leaders that a multi -speed Europe was not a good solution and that it could eventually lead to the breaking of the EU. He added that on Friday talks were held on the Declaration to be adopted in Rome on March 25. The EU heads of state and government met in Brussels without Great Britain to discuss the future of the community bloc. The talks were dominated by the ideas of a multi-speed Europe, one of the solutions proposed the President of the European Commission, J. C. Juncker, as a solution to re-launch the EU after Brexit. The vice-president of the EC, Frans Timmermans, told Radio Romania that any member state, Romania included, would be able to enter the so-called “closer cooperation groups” if they wanted so.



    Brussels — Germany and France on Friday called on the EU countries to accept the scenario of a multi-speed Europe. At a press conference held after the summit in Brussels the German chancellor Angela Merkel said the EU would show “its unity in diversity” at the Rome summit scheduled for March 25, which will mark 60 years since its setting up. The French President Francois Hollande presented his vision on a European Union in which some states should be able to form groups of enhanced cooperation that should allow them to advance faster than the others in terms of such policies as security and social systems without, however, losing the cohesion of member states.



    Constitutional Court — The Constitutional Court of Romania has found that there is conflict of interests between the Public Ministry and the Government, generated by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate’s action to check the legality and opportunity of issuing Government decree no. 13 through which they tried to amend the Criminal and Criminal Procedure Codes. The Court had been notified about the investigation undertaken by the National Anti-Corruption Directorate by the speaker of the Senate, Calin Popescu Tariceanu. Judges consider that the investigation has disturbed the activity of the Government and that it is only Parliament that can decide on a country’s laws.



    Unitary pay law — Negotiations continued at the Labour Ministry in Bucharest between the Government and trade unions regarding the unitary pay law. On Friday, trade unions from the field of culture said they agreed with the new pay scheme, adding there will be pay rises of up to 40%, benefiting especially employees with low salaries. Negotiations on the unitary pay draft law have already been carried out with trade unions in the defense, public order and healthcare sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st next year. According to the Labour Minister Olguta Vasilescu, state employees’ salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees in the healthcare sector.



    Vaccination schedule — In Romania a new draft law on vaccination will be submitted to public debate in one month at the latest- the new health minister, Florian Bodog announced. Once the law is adopted, parents will be obliged to respect the childhood vaccination schedule. The initiative comes in the context in which Romania has reported an alarming drop in the vaccination rate every year and has been facing many epidemics that made victims among children. The health minister added that, as regards the crisis of the quadrivalent vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, whooping cough and poliomyelitis, the authorities have already started their distribution to family doctors. On Friday he pointed out that over 3,400 cases of measles have been reported in Romania so far, and 17 people have died because of the virus. Health minister Bodog explained that the epidemics started in Romania from a nomadic group, the virus resembling the one that affected Italy an Hungary, although it is not clear if there are common factors involved.



    Rugby — Romania’s rugby team is on Saturday taking on the Belgian side away from home in the fourth round of Rugby Europe Championship, the competition replacing the European Nations’ Cup, the second continental rugby competition after the Six Nations’ Tournament. So far, Romania has defeated Russia away from home and Spain on home turf, but lost surprisingly to Germany away from home. Romania is ranked 2nd after Georgia, while Belgium is bottom-of-the-table. Romania is ranked 16th in the world rankings at present. (translation by L. Simion & V. Palcu)

  • March 10, 2017

    March 10, 2017

    SPRING COUNCIL — EU leaders are today convening in Brussels in the 27-member format, without Great Britain, to discuss the future of the EU. The main topic on the agenda for talks is the multi-speed Europe, one of the solutions proposed by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker. Representing Romania, President Klaus Iohannis said, before leaving, that Romania believes in a strong, united and solidary EU, opposing a multi-speed Europe. The president argued it would be counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union. In turn, Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu shared this view while taking part in the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. On the other hand, an increasing number of MEPs on all sides of the political spectrum are saying that the EU is already moving at different speeds and has subdivisions, such as the Schengen Area or the Eurozone. European Commission vice-president Frans Timmermans told Radio Romania that any member state, including Romania, will be able to join the so-called “closer cooperation groups”. The debate process will end with a joint Declaration to be adopted at the EU Summit in Rome on March 25.



    UNITARY PAY LAW — Negotiations continue at the Labour Ministry in Bucharest between the Government and trade unions regarding the unitary pay law. On Friday, trade unions from the field of culture said they agree with the new pay scheme, adding there will be pay rises of up to 40%, benefitting especially employees with low salaries. Negotiations on the unitary pay draft law have already been carried out with trade unions in the defense, public order and healthcare sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st next year. According to the Labour Minister Vasilescu, state employees’ salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the healthcare sector.



    TRAVEL FAIR — The Ministry of Tourism is promoting Romania at the International Travel Fair in Berlin, which is running through Sunday, having Botswana as official partner. Some 40 travel agents and representatives of city halls and associations from Romania are taking part of the largest travel event in the world. Attending the opening event, Romanian Tourism Minister Mircea Dobre met with the Secretary General of the World Tourism Organization, Taleb Rifai. The Romanian official outlined Romania’s plans to promote our country at international level.



    OLTCHIM — Romanian Economy Minister Mihai Tudose has assured the people living in Ramnicu Valcea, southern Romania, whose income depend more or less on the local petrochemical works facility that the enterprise will continue to operate after being privatized. The Minister said he favors any bid that provides for the continuous functioning of the unit, ruling out the selling of parts of the facility. Oltchim Ramnicu Valcea is the last petrochemical company in Romania, and one of the biggest of its kind in southeastern Europe. 10 years ago Oltchim exported over a third of its products to 80 countries all over the world. The facility is currently insolvent. After several failed privatization attempts, the creditors’ assembly adopted a new plan to sell all or parts of its assets organized in bundles, with no obligation on the part of the buyer to take over the company’s 2,000 employees.



    VACCINES — A new law on vaccination will be submitted for public debate within a month, the Health Minister Florian Bodog has announced. Once adopted, the law will force parents to comply with mandatory child vaccination schemes. The initiative was prompted against Romania’s dropping rate of vaccination, which has recently caused serious epidemics. Referring to the shortage of vaccines, Minister Bodog announced he signed the purchase contracts for hexavalent and tetravalent vaccines, while the vaccine against Hepatitis B will be purchased with EU funds. As regards the pneumococcal vaccine the Ministry will soon take action to renew its supplies.



    ATTACKS — A man injured seven people with an ax on Thursday evening at the Dusseldorf train station in Germany, three of whom are in critical condition. According to the German Police, the attacker is a 36-year-old male from the former Yugoslavia with mental problems. Germany is on high terrorist alert, particularly in the wake of December’s attack at a Christmas market in Berlin, which killed 12 people. In another development, two people were killed and a third was seriously wounded in a bar shooting in Basel, northwestern Switzerland. The attackers managed to escape.



    SOUTH KOREA — The Constitutional Court of South Korea today ruled to remove President Park Geun-Hye from office in the wake of a massive corruption scandal, France Press reports. The Court claims Park’s actions seriously impaired the spirit of representative democracy and the rule of law. The South Korean President tried to cover up the illegal businesses of a close friend, accused of demanding millions of dollars to large industrial groups. Under the law, snap elections will be held within 60 days. Supporters of Park gathered to protest outside the Court building, two of them being killed in clashes with the riot police.



    RUGBY — Romania’s rugby team is on Saturday taking on Belgium away from home in the fourth round of Rugby Europe Championship, the competition replacing the European Nations’ Cup, the second continental rugby competition after the Six Nations’ Tournament. So far, Romania has defeated Russia away from home and Spain on home turf, but lost surprisingly to Germany away from home. Romania is ranked 2nd after Georgia, while Belgium is bottom-of-the-table. Romania is ranked 16th in world rankings at present.



    TENNIS — Three Romanian tennis players will tonight play in the second round at Indian Wells, a tournament totaling some 7 million dollars in prize money. The world’s no. 4 player, Simona Halep, will take on Dona Vekic of Croatia, 86th WTA. Monica Niculescu, 45th WTA, will play Timea Bacsinszky of Switzerland, 16th WTA, while Irina Begu will take on Louise Chirico of the US, 65 WTA. The fourth Romanian player, Patricia Tig, 99th WTA, was eliminated in the first round of the main draw to Mariana Duque Marino of Columbia, 112th WTA. In the men’s competition, Marius Copil, 111th ATP, will take on Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the first round of the main draw. (Translated by V. Palcu)

  • March 9, 2017 UPDATE

    March 9, 2017 UPDATE

    SPRING COUNCIL – European leaders, including Romanias President Klaus Iohannis on Thursday re-elected Donald Tusk as European Council president. Other topics on Fridays agenda are employment, economic growth and competitiveness, migration, institutional matters, as well as the EUs foreign relations. The Council will convene on Friday in the 27-member formula, without Great Britain. Before the Spring Council meeting, President Iohannis reiterated the fact that Romania believes in a strong, united Union, and opposes the idea of a multi-speed Europe. According to the Romanian head of state, it would be completely counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union.



    MEETING – Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu on Thursday met in Brussels with Austrian Chancellor Christian Kern. The two discussed mainly about the Governments priorities and bilateral cooperation in the economic, social and cultural fields. On this occasion, the two agreed that Prime Minister Grindeanu should pay an official visit to Vienna for a comprehensive discussion on the future of the EU, given that Romania will be taking over the rotating presidency of the EU in 2019, from Austria. Talks were held on the sidelines of the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. Prime Minister Grindeanu insisted on the need to reform the EU and explained that cohesion funds and the Common Agricultural Policy are extremely important for Romania. The Romanian Prime Minister also met with French President Francois Hollande, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Federica Mogherini and with the president of the Party of European Socialists, Sergei Stanshev.



    MOLDOVA – Moldovan officials on Thursday sent a letter to Moscow signaling a series of abuses against Moldovan MPs, Government members, special service employees and governing coalition politicians. According to a Parliament release, the complaints were voiced during the meeting between Prime Minister Pavel Filip, Parliament Speaker Andrian Candu and Russian Ambassador to Chisinau, Farit Muhametshin. The letter describes the way Moldovan officials are abusively detained upon entry into Russian Federation, interrogated, searched and subjected to humiliating treatment. The harassment of Moldovan officials and their being monitored internationally by means of Russias bilateral relations with third countries have escalated after investigation made headway into the the laundering of some 22 billion dollars from the Russian Federation via a Moldovan Bank.



    HEALTHCARE – Since its EU accession in 2007, Romania has been faced with a mass exodus of medical staff, drawn by higher salaries and better work conditions to Western Europe, Reuters reports. The effect are telling, as Romania ranks among the EU states with the lowest number of doctors, although it ranks amongst its first in terms of the number of medical school graduates. Some 30% of positions in Romanian hospitals are vacant, while a third of Romanians have insufficient access to basic medical care. Former Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu is quoted as saying that entire cities lack a family physician. In 2016 the Health Ministry came up with a multiannual plan providing, among other things, for simplifying recruitment procedures and assistance for those who are not willing to practice medicine in rural areas, but the current Government has not adopted it yet, Reuters reports.



    UNITARY PAY LAW – Salaries in Romanian education will grow, on average, by 57%, said the president of the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation Marius Nistor after todays negotiations with the Labour Ministry on the unitary pay law. On Friday, the talks will continue with trade unions from culture. So far, ministry officials have discussed with representatives of the defense, public order and health-care sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st, next year. According to the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, state employees salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the health-care sector.



    GENEVA MOTOR SHOW – The 87th Geneva International Motor Show opened its doors on Friday. For ten days, visitors will have the opportunity to admire 900 automobiles, of which 148 are European and even world firsts. There are some 180 exhibitors attending the show in Geneva this year, an event supported by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. At the Romanian stand, visitors can see the Stepway version of the Dacia Logan MCV make, the fourth most successful of the range. Also, Renault has come up with a new concept, Zoe e-Sport, a super sport version of the electric model, and Peugeot-Citroen is displaying in Geneva the Peugeot 3008, declared the car of the year in Europe.



    TENNIS – The Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, ranking 11th in the ATP classification, has for the first time reached the main draw of the ATP Masters tournament in Indian Wells, the US, with 6.9 million dollars in prize money. In Thursdays qualifiers, he defeated the American Denis Kudla, no. 130 in the rankings, and will play in the first round against the Argentinean Horacio Zebalos (73 ATP). In the same tournament, the Romanian Monica Niculescu, no.45 in the WTA rankings, has qualified for the second round, after defeating another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, no. 66 in the classification. In the next round, Monica will play against the Swiss Timea Bacsinzky, no. 16. The best ranked Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 4 in the WTA classifications, will go straight to the second round to play against the winner of the match between the Croat Dona Vekic and the American Alison Riske. Irina Begu (31 WTA), also of Romania, will meet in the second round the US player Louise Chirico (65 WTA) and Patricia Tig (99 WTA) will play in the first round against the Colombian Mariana Duque Marino (112 WTA). (Translated by M. Ignatescu and V. Palcu)

  • March 9, 2017

    March 9, 2017


    SPRING COUNCIL Romanias President Klaus Iohannis is attending today and tomorrow the Spring Council in Brussels. Iohannis has stated that the main topics on the meetings agenda are employment, economic growth and competitiveness, migration, institutional matters, as well as the EUs foreign relations. The Council will convene on Friday in the 27 formula, without Great Britain. One important issue on the agenda is the election of the European Council President for a term that will last from June 1st 2017 till November 30th 2019. President Iohannis has reiterated the fact that Romania believes in a strong, united Union, and opposes the idea of a multi-speed Europe. According to the Romanian head of state, it would be completely counter-productive for the EU to accept only those projects that can be accessed by certain members of the Union. The Romanian Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu is in Brussels too, where he is attending the meeting of the Party of European Socialists. The socialists leaders are debating, among other things, topics relating to the future of the EU, after Brexit.



    UNITARY PAY LAW Salaries in Romanian education will grow, on average, by 57%, said the president of the Spiru Haret Trade Union Federation Marius Nistor after today’s negotiations with the Labour Ministry on the unitary pay law. Tomorrow, the talks will continue with trade unions from culture. So far, ministry officials have discussed with representatives of the defence, public order and health-care sectors. The document is supposed to be adopted by July 1st in order to show effects as of January 1st, next year. According to the Labour Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu, state employees’ salaries will be increased gradually by 2021, and the only ones who will benefit from a full rise in 2018 are the employees of the health-care sector.



    GENEVA MOTOR SHOW The 87th Geneva International Motor Show has opened its doors today. For ten days, visitors will have the opportunity to admire 900 automobiles, of which 148 are European and even world firsts. There are some 180 exhibitors attending the show in Geneva this year, an event supported by the International Organisation of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers. At the Romanian stand, visitors can see the Stepway version of the Dacia Logan MCV model, the fourth most successful of the range. Also, Renault has come up with a new concept, Zoe e-Sport, a super sport version of the electric model, and Peugeot-Citroen is displaying in Geneva the Peugeot 3008, declared the car of the year in Europe.



    40 HOLY MARTYRS Christian Orthodox and Catholic believers are today celebrating the 40 Holy Martyrs of Sebaste. This is the most popular spring celebration, before Easter. The 40 martyrs were soldiers in the Roman army and were sentenced to death in the year 320 for their faith. They were killed in Sebaste, Armenia, during the anti-Christian persecution inflicted by Emperor Licinius. On this day, those who do not have a saint name, celebrate their name day. Also today is the day of the Anti-communist political detainees. Masses will be held in churches to honour those who suffered during the communist regime for their determination to defend their faith in God and the dignity of the Romanian people.



    ROMANIAN ART Romanian painter Adrian Ghenies work “Self Portrait as Charles Darwin” was sold by Sothebys in London for 3.2 million pounds. On Tuesday, another two of his paintings were sold by Christies for 2.2 million: “The Hunter” and “Pie Fight Study”. Adrian Ghenie, aged 39, has had an incredible ascent to fame in the past years. In October 2016, his painting titled “Nickelodeon” was sold at an auction for 9 million dollars. The young painter is on the short list of all big auction houses in the world, and his works have been purchased and exhibited by famous museums across the world.



    INDIAN WELLS The Romanian tennis player Marius Copil, ranking 111th in the ATP classification, has for the first time reached the main board of the ATP Masters tournament in Indian Wells, the US, with 6.9 million dollars in prize money. In Thursdays qualifiers, he defeated the American Denis Kudla, no. 130 in the rankings, and will play in the first round against the Argentinean Horacio Zebalos (73 ATP). In the same tournament, the Romanian Monica Niculescu, no.45 in the WTA rankings, has qualified for the second round, after defeating another Romanian, Sorana Cirstea, no. 66 in the classification. In the next round, Monica will play against the Swiss Timea Bacsinzky, no. 16. The best ranked Romanian tennis player Simona Halep, no. 4 in the WTA classifications, will go straight to the second round to play against the winner of the match between the Croat Dona Vekic and the American Alison Riske. Irina Begu (31 WTA), also of Romania, will meet in the second round the US player Louise Chirico (65 WTA) and Patricia Tig (99 WTA) will play in the first round against the Colombian Mariana Duque Marino (112 WTA).




  • The unitary pay law under debate

    The unitary pay law under debate

    The unitary pay law will be adopted by July 1st
    and the pay rise will be made gradually until 2021, Labour Minister Lia Olguta
    Vasilescu has announced following talks with trade unions in the healthcare
    sector. The Minister has said that the first increase in salaries will be made
    as of January 1st 2018, in keeping with the governing programme of
    the ruling alliance made up of the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of
    Liberals and Democrats.




    Lia Olguta Vasilescu has voiced satisfaction at how
    negotiations unfolded and has pointed out that that the funds needed for the
    pay rise, around 7 billion euros for the 2018-2021 time frame, are available
    within the state budget. Lia Olguta Vasilescu:




    The minimum salary has increased constantly,
    therefore people without university studies and debutants working on a minimum
    salary are sometimes paid the same as the more experienced employees with
    higher education studies.




    Trade unionists in the healthcare sector say the
    unitary pay law is good and they are satisfied with the amounts earmarked for
    the pay rise. The increase in salaries for most of the medical staff next year
    stands at 60%. Early this week, the labour, interior and finance ministers as
    well as representatives of public order institutions held talks in Bucharest on
    the unitary pay law.




    However, trade unions representing the police are
    unhappy with the result of negotiations and have threatened with protests,
    arguing that over 80,000 Interior Ministry staff do not even earn the minimum
    salary of around 320 euros per month. They also denounce the fact that benefits
    are calculated based on the basic salary of 2009, without the increase in the
    gross minimum salary being considered. The Labour Ministry has said the
    Government will take a decision in this respect after the Finance Ministry
    analyses the impact that a prospective pay rise for the police staff may have
    on the state budget. These are the last such corrections, the Labour Minister
    has said, because the unitary pay law will correct existing salary imbalances.




    Prime Minister Sorin Grindeanu said on Radio Romania
    that the unitary pay law put up for public debate is aimed at improving the
    public sector pay scheme so as to mirror the responsibilities that public
    sector employees have. Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu has recently said that
    salaries of up to 890 euros will double by 2020, while salaries above this
    level will be increased by 45%. She has also said that starting July 1st
    this year, the pension point will also be increased to around 225 euros.
    Negotiations on the unitary pay law continue. Employee representatives in the
    areas of education and culture will discuss the issue with Labour Ministry
    representatives on Thursday and Friday, respectively.



  • March 6, 2017 UPDATE

    March 6, 2017 UPDATE


    LABOUR Talks were held on Monday between labour ministry officials and representatives of law enforcement institutions on the unitary pay law in Romania. The police trade union leaders are unhappy with the result of the negotiations and threaten with protests. They say there are more than 80,000 employees of the Interior Ministry who earn less than the national minimum wage, which currently stands at some 320 Euro. The line minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu has stated that the unitary pay system law is to be finalized in July, as provided in the governing program of the Cabinet formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats in Romania. She has also stated that by 2020 the salaries of up to 4,000 lei (890 Euro) will double, and those that exceed this cap will benefit from an increase of 45%. Also, as of July 1st the pension point will increase to 1,000 lei (approx. 225 Euro).



    EU POLICY Romania now has the historic opportunity to be part of the relaunch of the European Union, affected by Brexit and the rise of nationalism, said on Monday on Radio Romania the European Commissioner for Regional Policy Corina Cretu. She has advised the Romanian authorities to act and make sure Romania gets seriously involved in the reform process recently launched by the EC President Jean-Claude Junker, along with the presentation of the five potential scenarios regarding the future of the Union. Romania stands against the scenario of a multi-speed Europe. In an interview carried by several European newspapers, the French President Francois Hollande has stated that, for many years, the idea of a union with different paces of development has been opposed to, but this solution has now become a must.



    FOREIGN AFFAIRS The Romanian Minister Delegate for European Affairs Ana Birchall will attend in Brussels on Tuesday the proceedings of the General Affairs Council. The Councils draft conclusions regarding the report on the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism will be presented at the meeting. The draft acknowledges the major progress made by Romania and stresses the Romanian authorities support for achieving the CVM goals. The General Affairs Council meeting will also approach the latest preparation for the European Council meeting due on March 9-10, attended by heads of state and government. The last preparations were also made on Monday at the Foreign Affairs Council in Brussels, where Romania was represented by the Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu and the Defence Minister Gabriel Les. According to a communiqué issued by the Romanian Foreign Ministry, the meeting was a good opportunity to reconfirm Romanias firm commitment to consolidating the European project on security and defence.



    HEXI FARMA The Romanian producer of biocides Hexi Pharma, involved in the scandal of diluted disinfectants used in the Romanian hospitals, was sent to court on Monday by prosecutors of the Court of Cassation and Justice for fraud and use of forgery hampering the fight against diseases. The General Manager of the company Flori Dinu and the Manufacturing Manager Mihai Leva were also sent to court for forgery and actions hampering the fight against diseases. The owner of Hexi Pharma Dan Condrea died in a car crash in 2016, shortly after the it was revealed that his company was delivering diluted disinfectants to hospitals.



    NATO EXERCISE The multinational military exercise “Poseidon 2017” organized by the Romanian Navy brought to the Black Sea, on Monday, the NATO Mine Counter Measures Group. The training lasts one week and will be unfolding in the Romanian territorial waters and in the international waters in the west of the Black Sea. Participating are some 1,500 soldiers, military ships from 7 NATO member countries, Romanian and Turkish divers specializing in discovering and neutralizing underwater dangers, chiefs of staff of the Bulgarian and Turkish armies as well as aircraft and a helicopter. This is the 2nd military exercise organized by the Romanian Navy this year.



    EUROVISION Ilinca and Alex Florea will represent Romania at the Eurovision 2017 contest with the song “Yodel It” following their victory in Sunday nights national selection. The 62nd edition of Eurovision will be hosted by Kiev, with the semi-finals being scheduled for May 9 and 11 and the final for May 13. Romania will compete in the second semi-final. Another Romanian will participate in this years Eurovision contest, Miruna Mănescu, with the song “Apollo” but she will represent Switzerland. Romania has participated in the Eurovision contest since 1993, its best results being the 3rd place won at two editions and a 4th place.




  • March 5, 2017

    March 5, 2017


    UNITARY PAY LAW On Monday, the Romanian Labour Ministry starts talks with trade unions on the unitary pay system law. The first participants in the discussion will be representatives of the public order and health-care sectors. The line minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu has stated that incomes up to 4000 lei (888 Euro) will double, those that exceed this cap will increase by 45% and salaries higher than 1500 Euro will be slightly raised. She has also said that the Government is open to any kind of discussions, but it would prefer to not amend the bill. As regards pensions, Lia Olguta Vasilescu has stated that the next raise is due on July 1st, when the pension point will go up to 222 Euro.



    US REPORT Corruption continues to be Romanias biggest problem, reads the US Department of State country report on human rights practices in 2016. According to the report, bribe is a habit well spread across the public sector in Romania, laws are not always effectively implemented, and public officials, including judges, get involved in acts of corruption without being punished. Also, according to the document, immunity held by former and current ministers, who are also members of Parliament, has blocked many judicial investigations. The report also accuses the discrimination of the Roma population, the poor detention conditions and prison overcrowding, as well as an excessive political bias in the media. Politicians and groups of politicians either own or control many local and national media outlets, and their editorial policies reflect the views of their owners, the report also shows.



    EC REPORT The economic situation and the health-care and welfare systems are generating most of the issues facing Romania today, according to the country report drawn up by the European Commission based on Romanians views. Other problems identified by the Romanian citizens are the price rise, inflation and living costs, as well as unemployment. In the second half of the year 2016, Romanias economic situation was perceived as being good and very good by a quarter of the Romanians. As regards expectations for the next 12 months, Romanians were less optimistic than at the end of 2015, with a quarter of the interviewees saying they expected the economic situation would improve, and 29% believing it would become worse.



    ROMANIAN JUSTICE The new Romanian Justice Minister Tudorel Toader has announced that in approximately one month he will submit a bill amending the criminal legislation in keeping with the Constitutional Courts rulings. In an interview on Radio Romania, he said that the bill will be debated and adopted in parliament. Toader says that, as regards abuse of office, there must be a delimitation between contraventional and criminal liability and this can be done only by setting a threshold of the damage. Toader took the office in February, after the serious political crisis triggered by the Governments attempt to amend the criminal codes and grant collective pardon under emergency decrees. The threshold set for abuse of office was the equivalent of some 45,000. The decision triggered the largest street protests in Romania after the 1989 anti-Communist Revolution so the Government withdrew the decrees, and their author, the then Justice Minister Florin Iordache, resigned.



    HEALTH SECTOR More than 14,000 physicians and 28,000 nurses left Romania between 2009-2015, and many of them are now working in different fields, according to the president of the Sanitas Bucharest Federation Viorel Husanu. In an interview to Agerpress news agency, he has stated that in the past two years the physicians exodus abroad has diminished, as they have started to be satisfied with the working conditions in Romania. In the trade union leaders opinion, the fact that many people in the sector are appointed for political reasons, starting with hospital directors and ending with chief of departments or even chief nurses, and the system being underfunded are still the main issues facing the Romanian health-care system. Viorel Husanu does not believe that bribe will disappear completely from the Romanian hospitals, but if incomes go up, the health workers will start giving up on this practice.



    FOREIGN AFFAIRS On Monday, the Romanian Defence Minister Gabriel Les will attend in Brussels the proceedings of the Foreign Affairs Council. The agenda of the meeting includes current topics and focuses mainly on the implementation of the EU global defence and security strategy and measures to develop the common security and defence policy. Also, the participants will discuss important topics on the European defence agenda, such as the on-going structural cooperation, a coordinated revision of defence, the operational and leadership capability and the EUs commitment to the common security and defence policy.



    EUROVISION Mihai Traistariu, Xandra and Ramona Nerra are among the ten finalists of the Eurovision Romania contest. The winner is to be designated tonight by televoting. Eurovision Song Contest 2017 will be hosted by Kiev in May. Romania will compete in the second semi-final. Held uninterruptedly for 60 years now, the show is one of the oldest and best rated television programmes in the world. Romania has participated in the contest since 1993 and its record includes two third places, in 2005 and 2010 (Luminita Anghel&Sistem, Paula Selling and Ovi), and a fourth place in 2006 (Mihai Trastariu). Besides Romania, there are another 42 countries participating in this years edition of the contest.