New pay rises expected soon
Several categories of public sector employees that have not seen any pay rises this year will get more money as of next month
Daniela Budu, 14.06.2017, 13:43
Several categories of public sector employees whose salaries have not been increased in a long time will get more money soon, according to a draft law passed by the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday. The document stipulates, among other things, pay rises for the staff of university libraries, the Agriculture and Culture ministries, for a part of the healthcare employees, military staff in service and civilian staff working with the Defense Ministry. Labor Minister Lia Olguta Vasilescu gives us more details:
“The military staff will see a 15% increase in salaries, just like the staff of university libraries. Also, the state secretariat for revolutionaries will get 20% more, just like the staff of the institutions subordinated to the Agriculture Ministry, researchers with institutions subordinated to the Academy of Forestry and Agriculture, the sports clubs’ and student’s houses employees and expert doctors. Starting January 1, 2018 we will take into account the increases operated this year until the month of December. “
The Liberal MPs voted in favor of the project while the National Liberal Party’s interim president, Raluca Turcan, has pointed out that all pay rises adopted were amendments made by the Liberals, included initially in the unified pay bill recently adopted by Parliament. Raluca Turcan:
“Where is honesty? Where is responsibility? Can we even mention them if the high-ranking officials’ salaries go up while teachers and doctors are deceived?”
On the other hand, the labor minister has said that the draft law provides for pay rises for the categories of public sector employees that have not seen any increases this year and has dismissed the accusation that it’s only high-ranking officials that get more money. Last week, Lia Olguta Vasilescu announced that the pay rises for all public sector employees would no longer be applied as of July 1, as scheduled, but as of January 1, 2018. Statistics show that the salaries of Romanian employees have gone up by an average 13.4% this year, to around 520 euros in the month of April. According to the National Statistics Institute, the most important pay rise was applied to the doctors’ salaries, which went up by 36%. Employees in the IT sector top the list of best-paid employees. The insufficient staff, the increase in the minimum salary and the pay rises in the public sector are the main factors that triggered a significant increase in the salaries of Romanian employees. (Translated by E. Enache)
