The wage law. “No one is happy on either side,” says Minister Pîslaru after the meeting with the education unions
The interim Minister of Labor, Dragoş Pîslaru, declared, on Thursday, after the discussions with the unions in Education regarding the Salary Law, that the project may still undergo changes. Pîslaru says that he took over the project when he came to the Ministry of Labor with all the deficiencies reported by the unions, so he ended up as a “scapegoat”, informs News.ro.
“Education is one of the crucial sectors, for which we also have the largest allocation, 1.750 billion out of the 8 billion allocated in the ceiling that you know we have as a limit. The discussions are in the right direction, I think. As I told you, it is not a bill that is perfect. I have found several gaps that I hope that together with the unions and the Ministry of Education we can correct”, said the interim Minister of Labor, after the discussion with the leaders of trade unions in education.
“Nothing is agreed until everything is agreed”
Pîslaru mentioned that there are things related to specific elements and things related to the grid, the reset of the grid, the equivalence between the merit rating and the performance bonus.
“I hope we've cleared things up or that we're moving in the right direction, the things related to the remaining increases, how they apply and how we can take them into account. I was telling you that I think it was a good direction, because obviously nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. That's a correct principle of negotiation. Nobody is happy on either side, but I think that's actually a good indication that we're in an honest negotiation and which can lead to a result. I keep my hope that this constructive approach today will continue”, explained the minister.
He expressed his belief that they will manage to find a balance and significantly improve the bill.
“We will be one step closer to a better general law, considering the importance of this occupational family, and I want to thank the Ministry of Education and the social partners for their collaboration”, said Dragoş Pîslaru.
Asked why he didn't have these discussions before the law was published, Pîslaru answered: “It's very simple. I took over the law as such. So I had three weeks at my disposal, with a law prepared in the past and you have to ask those who prepared it why it has the respective gaps. It's a very simple thing.”
The minister emphasized that at this moment he is not so interested in the past.
“I am really the scapegoat for all the things that were not done, either on time, or were done without robust consultations with all the occupational families, that's what I'm doing now. I'm giving this law, this reform, a chance so that it can become a good reform and in which we can achieve as many of the things that are important for the public sector, without affecting the rest of society, that is, to fit into the budget that we have”, added Dragoş Pîslaru about the wage law.
The interim Minister of Labor announced that on Friday he will have discussions with the representatives of defense and public order and with the institutions that are self-financed”.
