Dissatisfaction with the minimum wage
Representatives of Romania’s ruling coalition have decided to increase the gross minimum wage starting July 1, 2026
Mihai Pelin, 19.12.2025, 13:50
The increase in the minimum wage scheduled for the middle of next year has sparked discontent among both employees and employers in Romania. Workers are calling for the measure to be applied from the very first day of 2026, arguing that prices and taxes have gone up while working conditions are steadily deteriorating.
Around 4,000 trade union members from four confederations protested in Bucharest on Thursday. Demonstrators are asking president Nicușor Dan to mediate the conflict between the unions and the government. The grievances are not limited to decisions related to the minimum wage, but also concern other measures adopted recently or announced for next year.
The Secretary General of the Cartel Alfa trade union confederation, Mihai Bărbulescu:
“These are not measures that have been discussed and analyzed in order to improve the situation. They are felt only by workers, especially by citizens. And we see that our lives are slipping, day by day, into a clear and visible downward spiral. We cannot accept this situation because, in a normal democracy, government institutions must function through dialogue at the level of ministerial committees, as well as at national tripartite level. That is where the measures should be taken that are meant to pull the country out of crisis. However, the measures imposed by Prime Minister Bolojan have neither lifted the country out of crisis nor improved Romania’s budgetary and financial situation”.
Leaders of the trade union confederations who took part in the protest warn that, in the absence of a response from the authorities, the situation could even lead to a general strike, although they stress that such an outcome is not desirable given the country’s economic situation.
On the other side, representatives of employers’ associations criticize the way decisions with an impact on the economy are being made. The President of the National Council of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises in Romania, Florin Jianu, says the minimum wage should have been kept at its current level next year and considers it a lack of respect that the decision to raise the minimum wage was taken within the ruling coalition rather than during discussions in the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue. He argues that the reasons for maintaining the current minimum wage reflect the real state of the economy.
“We relied on the analyses we carried out, on what is happening in the economy right now, on increased taxes and duties, on how SMEs are affected and will continue to be affected next year, on the lack of competitiveness, on the fact that businesses are closing. Right now, 136,000 companies have closed, more than in the entire previous year, and these figures are as of October. We have more companies closing than opening, we have over-taxation of fuel, increased VAT, energy prices are high, new taxes and duties coming into force on January 1, so political decisions or political bargaining should not take precedence in this country”.
Employers’ associations are contradicted, however, by experts who support raising the minimum wage, arguing that inflation primarily affects low-income families. (VP)
