Romania’s government pays wages before Easter only for a part of state employees; teachers and policemen to receive salaries after Easter holiday

The Romanian government will pay wages due for March before Easter only for a part of state employees, including members of parliament and secret services personnel, but not for large budgetary categories like teachers or policemen, according to an order signed by the Finance Minister.

The order says only the employees of 38 ministries and state agencies will receive their wages on April 5, before the Orthodox Easter (April 8).

The other employees will be paid after the Orthodox Easter, one of the major holidays in Romania, during which people usually spend more money than in other periods.

“We have discussed with each institution and who has opted to take the salary. The Ministry of Finance just created the legal framework on which this salary can be given before Easter. Many have not shown any interest and the decision was different, on a case-by-case basis,” said Finance Minister Eugen Teodorovici on Wednesday, on a local TV news channel.

The list by the Ministry of Finance, published in the Official Gazette, includes the ministries of Finance, Health, Transport, Environment, Communications, Energy or Economy and institutions like the Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI), the Competition Council and several other state agencies which will pay the wages before Easter.

But the list doesn’t include institutions with large number of employees like the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, meaning that policemen, gendarmes and teachers will not cash their wages before Easter.

According to g4media.ro, members of parliament this week will be cashing in their wages and other compensations in advance, amounting to RON 16,000 (EUR 3,440) for each person.

The Education minister Valentin Popa was quoted by ziare.com as saying that his institution didn’t have enough time to draw up the papers in order to pay the wages before Easter.