The government of Romania has drafted the first version of the new draft law on the remuneration of personnel paid from public funds, with the aim of correcting the imbalances accumulated in recent years and introducing clearer and more sustainable rules in the system. Drafted under the ministership of Social Democrat (PSD) minister Florin Manole, the bill should be promoted by the interim cabinet of Liberal (PNL) prime minister Ilie Bolojan.
The milestone is linked to grants of over EUR 700 million under the Resilience Facility, PM Bolojan stressed.
The bill mainly aims to increase wage equity, transparency, and the system’s orientation towards performance. The authorities emphasized that the current law, in force since 2017, has generated significant discrepancies between different categories of public sector employees over time.
Between 2022 and 2024, the budget allocated to public sector employees’ salaries increased by 40%, from RON 118 billion in 2022 to RON 164 billion in 2024, Stirileprotv.ro reported. The wages in the budgetary sector were frozen from November 2024.
Out of every RON 100 collected in taxes and duties by the Romanian state, almost RON 30 in 2023 and RON 32 in 2024 went towards paying the salaries of public sector employees. Current expenses are thus impossible to sustain with current revenues.
Another central element of the reform is limiting the ratio between the lowest and highest salaries in the system to 1:8, compared to 1:12 currently. The measure is intended to reduce wage gaps and ensure a more balanced distribution of income.
The draft also introduces a strict rule: all salary rights will be granted exclusively through this law. Any benefits established by other normative acts will be considered null and void. At the same time, exceptions for institutions such as the National Bank of Romania, the Financial Supervisory Authority, or ANRE are maintained.
iulian@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Gov.ro)
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