Sorin Grindeanu, on the increase in the minimum wage: “People should be paid according to their work and according to EU rules”

Employees in Romania must have decent salaries, in accordance with the regulations of the European Union, which has issued a Directive in this regard, he said on Thursday evening to the interim leader of the PSD, Sorin Grindeanu.

Asked about the signals coming from the business environment, which warned that an increase in the minimum wage risks leading to the closure of several SMEs, Grindeanu said that things should not be viewed only from this perspective, because “employees must also have decent wages”.

“We must not exclude and speak only from one perspective, that of the employers. We must also see the other perspective. That people in Romania have decent salaries, that people are paid according to their work, that people are paid according to the rules of the European Union. And as you well know, there is a directive in the European Union, which says things related to the minimum wage”, said Sorin Grindeanu in Reșita, according to Agerpres.

The social-democratic leader added that a meeting of the Tripartite Committee took place at the Government, in which the representatives of employers, unions and the Executive took part, but a conclusion of the discussions was postponed for November.

Grindeanu is waiting for a report from Finance

Sorin Grindeanu mentioned that he is waiting for a report from the Minister of Finance on the budgetary impact of the measure, but also an information from the European Commissioner Roxana Mînzatu on what the increase or not of the minimum wage implies.

“I am waiting (…) for the Minister of Finance to come with a report (…) and the labor commissioner, Mrs. Roxana Mînzatu, must also send an information related to what it means not to increase the minimum wage. Whether or not we are in violation. We may be in violation, because we have committed to some things in the European Union,” he said.

“Germany increased the minimum wage this week. Germany which – I don't know if it's on economic growth – I think it's been in recession for about two, three years. And I'm waiting for the Minister of Finance to see if there is and what would be the budgetary impact of something like that. And after that let's make a decision. (…) I think you have to look at things from all perspectives, it's not enough to look from one angle and from one direction,” the PSD leader concluded.

Last week, Florin Jianu, the president of IMM Romania, a nationally representative employers' confederation, announced that the position of the organization for the year 2026 is to freeze the minimum gross salary per country at the current level (of 4,050 lei), considering the fact that seven out of ten entrepreneurs do not have the possibility to increase the amount of this salary.

“We have an analysis of the fact that, in the last three years, the gross minimum wage has increased constantly and above the rate of inflation. We have an increase in inflation of about 23% compared to previous years and in the salary of about 58%. The minimum wage has grown constantly. If in 2022 we had the minimum wage of 2,550 lei, in 2023 it was 3,000 lei until October 1, after which it was 3,300 lei from October 1, in 2024 it was 3,700 lei, and in 2025 it is 4,050 lei”, Florin Jianu mentioned last Tuesday, citing data from the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

PSD has repeatedly announced, until now, that it opposes freezing the minimum wage in the country in 2026.