Salaries in the public sector under public debate

The draft emergency ordinance on salaries in the budget sector in Romania has been put up for public debate.

România Internațional, 18.05.2016, 14:16

On Tuesday, the Labour Ministry launched for public debate a draft emergency ordinance regarding salaries in the public sector. The main amendments concern the full restructuring of the pay system in healthcare and education and introducing a bonus system based on performance criteria, which would benefit the employees in the two sectors as of January 1st, 2017.

The draft also stipulates the elimination of salary gaps for equal positions and equal labour for all occupational families, which are groups of occupations based upon work performed, skills, education, training and credentials.

Prime Minister Dacian Ciolos has stated that the draft will correct some of the system’s dysfunctions, with focus on the healthcare sector, but not all of them, because the Government has to abide by some budgetary constraints. According to the Labour Minister Dragos Pislaru, as a result of these measures over 1.2 million people will have higher salaries and nobody will be affected by salary cuts.

Dragos Pislaru: “We have analyzed all figures in order to make sure that the salaries that we will include in the salary grid for the healthcare sector, for instance, are higher than the biggest salaries already in the system. As for the other type of correction, as you will see, all salaries in the same unit will be aligned to the maximum level. So, there are no suspicions that anybody’s salary will drop.”

The President of the National Trade Union Bloc Dumitru Costin says that only 400,000 employees in the budget sector will benefit from higher salaries, and the other 800,000 will not. The draft on salaries in the public sector has raised trade unions’ discontent, especially in the education sector. They say that this new order only solves the issues facing the health sector and the central administration. Anton Hadar, the president of the ‘Alma Mater’ National Federation of Trade Unions in Public Administration:

Anton Hadar: “These are just patches. As regards the education system, it would be fine if these patches solved anything and make up for something good. But they can only cover a small portion of the issues facing the system.”

Trade unionists in the local public administration threaten with strikes and boycotting local elections. Pompiliu Buzduga, the vice-President of the National Trade Union Federation in Administration:

Pompiliu Buzduga: “It is not normal for seven ministries to benefit from a 70% salary raise, and the local administration to get nothing.”

The budgetary impact triggered by the changes in the salary grid stands at some 2.3 billion lei, of which 1.2 billion will be allocated to make up for the existing salary gaps, and 1.022 billion for the reform in the healthcare sector.