What the PSD's reform proposal looks like: “25% means 50,000 busy jobs,” says Grindeanu / how much the financial impact estimates

The interim president of the PSD was asked on Wednesday, new details about the reform in the local administration proposed by his party, while the tensions in the coalition are exacerbated.

The PSD leader clarified, on Wednesday, the proposal of his party on the reform of the local administration, which he left to President Nicușor Dan. Grindeanu says that the reduction of 25% of the total occupied positions means 50,000 employees. Prime Minister Bolojan had talked about 13,000 positions on Tuesday.

Asked by Hotnews, in the Parliament, what the gradual reduction proposed by 25% of staff means, Sorin Grindeanu said: “Let's say, somewhere close to 190,000 (n.red. Estimating the total positions, both occupied and unoccupied), there are almost 50,000 occupied positions.”

In the document that reached Nicușor Dan's table, the PSD proposes that this reform should not be made until January 1, 2026, as the Prime Minister Bolojan had asked for four years.

• Phase I – basic audit and digitalization: posting of posts, launching online platforms for simple services (certificates, taxes, appointments).
• Phase II – Differentiated discounts up to 25%: application of criteria, voluntary mobility of staff between UAT, creating intercommunity centers for specialized services.
• Phase III-structural consolidation: stimulants for voluntary merging of very small UATs, additional reduction where there are clear redundants (up to 30% maximum).
• Phase IV – digital and transparent administration: complete integration of services in the unique national platform, standardization by Estonian and Nordic model.

Sorin Grindeanu did not provide new details on how this process will be implemented, respectively a clearer calendar. He said, however, how much the financial impact of this proposal estimates.

“If we are to extrapolate what was calculated yesterday in Cotroceni, if for 10% we are talking about 1.4 billion, then there are 3.5 billion …”, explained Grindeanu.

What PSD's proposal provides for

The PSD, who asked for the postponement of the adoption of the reform of the local administration, gave President Nicușor Dan, on Tuesday at the Cotroceni consultations, a document with six proposals. According to the document obtained by Hotnews, among the requests are 25% of the positions occupied.

The social-democrats demand that the process of reform of the local administration take place “gradually, differentiated and digitized” and reject the current proposals that they say will lead to “an administration mutilated by statistical cuts”.

They invoke four major risks if the reform continues in the desired form of the prime minister. Specifically, the PSD states that the current measures can lead to an administrative blockage, to emphasize the regional inequalities, to the loss of European funds and to public distrust.

The PSD proposal provides, as Grindeanu said on Tuesday evening on Romania TV, a “safety net” for communities with less than 1,500 inhabitants – “Territorial administrative units with less than 1,500 inhabitants – minimum 8-10 basic officials, without reductions under this threshold”.