Labor minister: New public sector wages law could be approved next week

Dragoș Pislaru, the labor minister, said that the regulation regarding the salaries of public workers could be approved in the government meeting due Wednesday, June 7. He added that until the end of this week, the proposal of the government will be discussed with the union partners from Education sector.

Pislaru: “We are waiting that until the end of the week with the union partners to reconfirm their position regarding the Government proposal. I declared on Monday at the meeting a slight disagreement. Obviously, we are waiting the confirmation of this fact and if they are maintaining their position expressed until know and we are not getting to an agreement, that we are still wanting, the Government position will be on the option that corresponds best with the principles discussed.”

However, the minister refused to mention which is precisely the option, respectively that with an increase of 9.65 percent from August 2017 or the one with increases between 5 and 6 percent from August 2016 with a budgetary impact of RON 200 million.

Pislaru declared initially that the unions from Education agreed some changes from August 2016, but afterwards they disagreed this proposal and asked to be applied since January 1, 2017.

According to him, 120, 000 of the teachers from the existing 260,000 in the system will benefit from the positive wage changes.

Other changes from the regulation project regarding the wages of employees paid from public funds in 2016 are referring to elimination of wage differences for equal positions and equal work within the same unit by bringing the wages at the maximum level paid at unit/institution level for all the position in the same category according to the budgetary allocation limit.

The unions from education system were unsatisfied about this project claiming that besides the bonus budget of 2 percent, it does not bring anything extra for the employees within this sector.

Georgiana Bendre