Protests and Inflation
Romanian trade unionists continue protests against government's social and wage policies
Bogdan Matei, 13.11.2025, 13:50
Thousands of members of the National Trade Union Bloc (BNS), one of the largest trade unions in Romania, protested again on Wednesday in central Bucharest, dissatisfied with the austerity measures adopted by the government and the decline in the population’s purchasing power. Protesters from all walks of life initially gathered in Victoria Square, near the palace that houses the government, then marched and stopped in front of the headquarters of the main ministries. Among other things, they demanded that salaries be indexed to the inflation rate and better working conditions.
People are demanding an increase in the minimum wage and an end to government policies involving job cuts aimed at reducing the budget deficit, which last year was the highest of all 27 EU member states in Romania. What is happening now is stupidity, not reform, trade unionists claim. Previously, BNS announced that it would refer the matter to the European Commission if the pro-Western PSD-PNL-USR-UDMR government maintained its proposal to freeze the minimum wage, in violation of the calculation formula provided for in a legislative act also adopted by the executive. The BNS welcomed the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union, which confirms the validity of the EU directive on adequate minimum wages, as well as its essential provisions on the promotion of collective bargaining and the obligation of member states to develop action plans in this regard.
BNS also states that failure to comply with the adjustment mechanism provided for in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, agreed with Brussels, risks hindering the implementation of the reforms undertaken by Romania and leading to the loss of European funds. Commentators on Romanian public life say that the trade unions’ nervousness is entirely legitimate, given that the government’s social and wage policies are affecting the standard of living of ordinary people.
The National Bank’s management has recently adopted the quarterly inflation report, a document in which it anticipates that this indicator will record a modest decline over the next nine months. It fell slightly in October to 9.8% from 9.88% in September, when the European Union average was 3.2%. In Romania, this is the effect of the expiry, on July 1, of the electricity price cap scheme and the increase, from August 1, of the Value Added Tax and excise duties. According to the National Institute of Statistics, the economy grew by only 0.3% in the second quarter compared to 2024, after stagnating at the beginning of the year. This, experts say, could indicate almost flat economic activity, and in the public perception – virtually non-existent or even in decline. (MI)
