Agreement in the former governing coalition on the salary law, after negotiations mediated by the presidency. The main provisions
The leaders of the broken coalition signed an agreement committing to adopt the new wage law by the end of the parliamentary session, i.e. by the end of June. The project will be published on Monday in decisional transparency, the Presidential Administration announces in a statement. At the same time, Dragoș Pâslaru, the interim Minister of Labor and European Funds, also explained the main provisions.
After the Bolojan Government was dismissed by the censure motion submitted by the PSD and the AUR, the prime minister said that the draft Salary Law will be negotiated with the political parties in order to obtain the parliamentary support it needs for adoption.
The mediation between the parties was taken over by the presidency, through the presidential advisor for economic issues Radu Burnete.
Milestone of 700 million euros from PNRR
“Following a mediation process carried out under the coordination of the Presidential Administration, the Social Democratic Party, the National Liberal Party, the Save Romania Union and the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania signed an agreement by which they undertake to adopt the new public sector salary law by the end of the current parliamentary session,” announced the Presidential Administration on Friday.
The new salary law is a milestone within the PNRR worth 700 million euros, money that Romania risks losing if it does not meet this milestone.
The Presidential Administration also conveys, in the same communiqué, that no public sector employee will have his salary reduced, “and the total expenditure on salaries in the public sector in 2027 will not exceed the expenditure in 2026 by more than 8 billion lei. According to the agreement, the application of the new law will not put Romania in a position to violate its assumed fiscal objectives in the short, medium and long term”.
Also, the presidency transmits that the new wage law will enter into force in full on January 1, 2027, “without staggered application, and will not be modified later by special interventions.”
After the draft will be made public on Monday, the Ministry of Labor will organize consultations with all the categories covered by the law.
The Acting Minister of Labor explains what the law is based on
“The political parties have agreed this morning on the basic elements of the draft law on the salaries of staff paid from public funds”, this is how the post begins in which Dragoș Pâslaru, the interim Minister of Labour, announces the agreement between the 4 formations.
He says the reform is based on “three essential principles”:
- “Protecting the income of public sector employees: no employee will experience salary reductions as a result of the application of the new law;
- Budgetary discipline and sustainability: the reform must respect the fiscal objectives assumed by Romania and be sustainable in the long term;
- Full and predictable application: the new law will fully enter into force on January 1, 2027, without phased applications and without successive exemptions for different professional categories”.
In addition, Pâslaru explains what the new law will be based on:
- “a fair hierarchy of functions in the entire public sector, including for local public administration;
- A single salary grade structure for the entire public sector;
- the limitation and transparency of increases, together with the introduction of clear and verifiable performance criteria;
- the institutionalization of the governance of the wage system, through joint responsibility between the Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Finance;
- fiscal sustainability and compliance with the assumed targets regarding the deficit and personnel expenses”.
Pâslaru wants the project to be ready in 2 weeks
The interim Minister of Labor also announces that on Monday the draft of the new salary law will be published in decisional transparency and that on Tuesday the consultations with the trade unions and employers will begin.
“I want an accelerated timetable of about two weeks for consultations and finalization of the draft before it goes to Parliament for approval.”
“This law represents one of the most important milestones undertaken by Romania through the PNRR. Our objective is to build a fair, coherent and predictable wage system for the entire public sector,” Pâslaru says.
