President Nicușor Dan convened on Tuesday, at the Cotroceni Palace, the leaders of the parties from the former governing coalition, for a new attempt to reach an agreement on the Unified Salary Law. However, time is very short: the project must be adopted and promulgated by August 31, so that Romania does not lose 770 million euros from the PNRR.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Sorin Grindeanu, Ilie Bolojan, Dominic Fritz, and Kelemen Hunor are expected. The discussion will be dedicated to the Salary Law, confirmed political sources for spotmedia.ro. Additionally, the formation of a new government could also be discussed.
The head of state is trying to obtain a political agreement that would allow for the rapid adoption of the project in an extraordinary session of Parliament.
The meeting is taking place at a complicated time. The project has sparked protests and even strikes in the public sector, with PSD and UDMR contesting some of the provisions, and there is still no agreement among the ministries involved regarding all salary grids.
Discussions are also blocked within the Government
Sources from Spotmedia say that despite the negotiations in recent weeks, there is still no version that all parties have agreed upon.
One of the sensitive points remains the salaries in the healthcare sector. Neither the interim Minister of Labor, Dragoș Pîslaru, nor the interim Minister of Health, Cseke Attila, have reached an agreement on all the proposed salary grid changes.
In recent weeks, several negotiations have taken place at Cotroceni, including at a technical level, under the coordination of the Presidential Administration. The objective is for political leaders to reach a version on Tuesday that can pass through Parliament without major modifications.
Pîslaru: "Last chance for the Unified Salary Law"
The interim Minister of Labor, Dragoș Pîslaru, warned on Monday that this is most likely the last week in which the necessary political agreement can be reached.
"Today we enter the final stretch to meet a critical milestone on the PNRR, related to the salary law, whose fulfillment would unlock 770 million euros for investments. This is most likely the last week in which a political agreement can be reached on this reform, in order to be adopted and promulgated before August 31," Pîslaru stated.
The law has been postponed for the past four years, and the project currently under discussion involves an allocation of approximately 12 billion lei for restructuring salaries in the public sector.
Pîslaru argues that over two-thirds of the targeted employees are expected to benefit from salary increases, and a compensation mechanism has been introduced to ensure that no salary decreases.
The Minister says that the project has been significantly modified in the last three weeks, especially in Healthcare and Education.
In Healthcare, provisions regarding bonuses, differentiation of coefficients based on the type of unit and specialization, as well as the classification of TESA staff, have been revised.
In Education, the Ministry of Labor proposes a higher payment for overtime hours, a more advantageous headteacher allowance, and an increase in certain grids and coefficients, to be phased in by 2028.
Unions and parties have their own objections
The project has caused strong dissatisfaction among public sector employees, especially in Healthcare and Education. Unions have demanded changes and warned that protests could continue if their demands are not taken into account.
The dispute is also political. PSD has announced that it will not support the law in its current form and has requested clarifications from the European Commission regarding the possibility of changes to protect employees in Healthcare and Education. UDMR, in turn, raised the issue of funding sources for the additional costs.
The budget allocated for the reform has increased from approximately 8 billion lei to about 12 billion lei following negotiations. However, unions have requested changes that could push the costs up to around 20 billion lei.
The law should have been made years ago
The public sector salary reform is one of the commitments assumed by Romania through the PNRR and has undergone several delays.
The initial deadline was June 2023. The reform was later postponed and moved between payment requests without the law being finalized. During this time, several ministers have succeeded each other at the helm of the Ministry of Labor.
Now, the deadline of August 31 puts additional pressure on the negotiations. If the law is not adopted on time, Romania risks losing approximately 770 million euros in European funds.
After salaries, a political crisis follows
Tuesday's meeting could also settle the issue of forming a new government. Nicușor Dan wants to see if a majority can be built to support a government with full powers.
Romania has an interim Executive after the Bolojan Government was ousted by a vote of no confidence by PSD and AUR on May 5. Since then, negotiations for the formation of a new government have not produced a stable majority.
Several scenarios remain under discussion, including a technocratic government or a minority Executive. The President has so far stated that he will not make a new prime minister nomination until there is a guarantee of a parliamentary majority.