The strike in the Romanian healthcare sector entered its third day on Thursday, July 30, and union representatives warned that street protests will follow if the government does not offer them additional guarantees that the planned Wage Law will not cut any income in the system. Government representatives, on the other hand, said that the protest was politically manipulated and assured that no income will decrease, as per the text of the law.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Staff at two hospitals in Bucharest, the \u201cBagdasar-Arseni\u201d Emergency Clinical Hospital and the \u201cFloreasca\u201d Emergency Clinical Hospital, argued for Digi24<\/a> that the reduction of bonuses will affect employees\u2019 monthly incomes.\u00a0<\/p>\n The head of the ICU Department at the \u201cFloreasca\u201d Hospital, Radu \u021aincu, explained that the difference between salary and actual income received is essential for staff working in particularly difficult conditions. According to him, part of the income in the ICU and Emergency Department comes from the bonus for difficult working conditions. If that bonus is reduced, healthcare workers\u2019 income will decrease even if the actual salary does not decrease.<\/p>\n Currently, only emergencies are being handled in medical units, while patients scheduled for consultations, investigations, or non-urgent interventions are forced to wait until normal activity resumes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, interim prime minister Ilie Bolojan stated during an interview<\/a> on Wednesday, July 29, that the healthcare strike is based on \u201cdisinformation and lies.\u201d He accused Alexandru Rogobete, the former Social Democrat (PSD) health minister, of \u201cbehaving irresponsibly\u201d during the strike while doing nothing to prevent it while in office.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the lies is related to the fact that incomes, if the Wage Law were adopted, would decrease not only in healthcare but also in other fields. There is an explicit provision in the law stating that if there is someone – and there are approximately 20-30% of those in the budgetary sector – who has a higher level of pay than they should have, their salaries will not decrease,\u201d Bolojan said. Instead, he argued that the Wage Law would gradually equalize diverging income levels over time.<\/p>\n The interim PM, who also leads the center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), said that former coalition partners in the Social Democratic Party have created expectations regarding salaries in the public sector that cannot be met due to Romania\u2019s financial constraints.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe can increase the wage fund in Romania only as much as the Romanian economy can afford. Otherwise, we return to where we started,\u201d the official said, referring to the public deficit issue, which ballooned in 2024 during the former PSD-led government of Marcel Ciolacu.\u00a0<\/p>\n In reply, the former health minister claimed<\/a> to be the author of true reforms in the Romanian public healthcare system. “Reducing the incomes of healthcare workers does not constitute reform,” Alexandru Rogobete said.<\/p>\n