PSD guarantees that the minimum wage will increase, the Government spokeswoman contradicts them / Harsh response from the party led by Grindeanu

The spokeswoman for the Government, Ioana Dogioiu, said on Thursday, when asked about the minimum wage, that Prime Minister Bolojan said that, “in principle, it will not increase”. The statements were made in the context in which several representatives of the PSD claimed that the minimum wage will increase in 2026. “Those who say that it will not increase, can go home or, please, to their employers. (…) I am waiting for them to recover! If not, let them go!”, replied the former PSD Minister of Finance Adrian Câciu.

At the end of Thursday's meeting of the Government, the spokeswoman of the Bolojan Cabinet, Ioana Dogioiu, was asked what are the options considered for the minimum wage – if it will increase in 2026 or will it be frozen.

“The subject is under the prime minister's analysis. When I asked him, he answered “in principle, the minimum wage will not increase”, answered Dogioiu.

The question came in the context in which, in recent days, several PSD representatives claimed that the minimum wage will increase.

Former PSD minister: “What Ms. Dogioiu wants or doesn't really matter in the decision-making act”

Former PSD Minister of Finance Adrian Câciu reacted with an ironic message on Facebook to the Government spokeswoman.

“I say it will grow, and they who say it won't grow can go home or, I pray, to their employers. Because they don't support the people, they carry out orders! I expect them to recover! If not, let them go!

The PSD strongly supports the increase of the gross minimum wage from January 1, 2026. A new argument comes in support of the PSD that supports the need to increase the minimum wage. In Romania, the official data records the most accelerated decrease in the average salary, since the cuts in the Boc-Băsescu period. Purchasing power is decreasing and it is acutely felt, especially for low-income employees”, claims Câciu.

Among those from the PSD who claimed that the minimum wage will increase from 2026 is the former Minister of Labor Marius Budai, current PSD deputy. In a message also posted on Facebook, he “guaranteed” that “the minimum wage will go up next year! It won't be frozen! I assure you of that.”

He says that the PSD will not accept that the national and European legislation regulating the European minimum wage be violated.

“Another PSD deputy, Mihai Fifor, wrote on Facebook that the PSD will categorically support in the Coalition that the Government respect the European minimum wage mechanism, which provides for the increase of this income depending on economic developments”. He also says that freezing the minimum wage is unacceptable and would lead to the deepening of the recession.

And the current Minister of Labor, Florin Manole (PSD), supports the increase of the minimum wage. He declared on PrimaTV's Insider Politic show that he is one of the “fervent supporters of the constant increase of the minimum wage”.

“I lived this experience and maybe you and many people who came to Bucharest from outside the city. To work in Bucharest on the minimum wage and not have enough money even for rent is absolutely unfair,” Manole said.

On October 20, the Tripartite National Council will take place, the meeting between the Government, employers and unions. The Minister of Labor told ProTV News that “October 20, the deadline by which we must have all the figures from the statistics, all the forecasts, so that the Tripartite National Committee can make a decision about the margins that this law offers. I mean the percentages of the gross average salary on the economy, between 47 and 52%.”

The EU Minimum Wage Directive says that the minimum per economy cannot be less than 50% of the average gross wage. At the moment, the minimum gross salary in Romania is 4,050 lei, which means 2,574 lei “in hand”.

Also according to European legislation, which is also transposed into Romanian legislation, the level of the minimum wage must also be calculated taking into account the general level of wages, the wage growth rate, purchasing power and labor productivity at the national level.

Employers do not agree to increase the minimum wage

IMM Romania, a nationally representative employers' confederation, asked the Government on Wednesday not to increase the minimum for the economy and to maintain the gross minimum wage at the current level in 2026. Employers warn that an increase could lead to layoffs, market distortions by increasing untaxed work and reducing investments.

“The increase in the minimum gross salary for the country, by the Government, combined with the increase in taxation and without proposing a package of economic support measures for SMEs, will lead to the transfer of all additional costs to entrepreneurs, a fact that will determine the increase in the price of products and services of Romanian enterprises, which will result in the loss of competitiveness”, the representatives of IMM Romania said.

Employers say that by increasing labor costs at a time when taxes and fees for the business environment are increasing, it will inevitably lead to a decrease in the competitiveness of Romanian companies.

According to them, the increase in the number of insolvencies and the decrease in consumption show the setback of the Romanian economy, a fact that creates additional pressure on SMEs.

In their opinion, a way to increase salary incomes, without an unsustainable increase in costs for employers, can be achieved by lowering taxation on the labor force, thus increasing incomes for employees.