Patronages accept the minimum income's increase from 650 to 705 lei. Condition: incomes freeze until emerging from the downturn

The patronages proposed that the minimum salaries are increased from 650 to 705 lei, but on one condition: the rest of the salaries are to freeze until the emergence from the economic crisis. The unions request that this debate must take into consideration Romania’s salary policy, Romanian press agency Mediafax informs.

UGIR 1903 president Cezar Coraci declared after discussing the issue with the Work Ministry that the increase of the minimum income has to be achieved by renouncing the unique collective labour contract on a national level, so that salaries over the minimum wage could be frozen until the financial crisis concludes.

The patronages explained that increasing the minimum salary to 705 lei would entail 18% to the state budget and 14% for the private sector, which would be unsustainable. The UGIR 1903 president noted that the minimum income has been discussed already with the unions and settled for 650 lei and it might be kept despite the Government opting to increase it to 705 lei.

The National Union Bloc (BNS) president Dumitru Costin declared that he insisted to discuss the minimum salary in the context of Romania’s salary policy, because otherwise any discussion would lead nowhere. But, according to him, Romania’s work legislation is imperfect and tolerated by all Governments, which allow for the existence of masked work contracts that tolerate evasion and fraud on the labour market.

„The social insurance system is very badly constructed and we have not wanted to repair it for so many years. If we do not discuss a package of all these issues, we will not find solutions to bring the minimum income to a real value”, Costin declared. The BNS leader believes that the minimum income should reflect the work exercised, which should insure a living and have the workers enlisted for social aid.

„What we’ve got is not a minimum salary, but a sort of social aid. We proposed that the Government changed its priorities”, Dumitru Costin added. He indicated that the minimum salary has to be related with the minimum cost, which he estimates to 1.119 lei per family earning an income.