Romania minimum salary set at 500 RON

Romanian labor minister Paul Pacuraru has announced that the minimum salary in 2008 was set at 500 RON – or 145 euro. Employers’ unions have agreed with the threshold, while trade unions said they favored a re-evaluation of an amendment to rectify the 2008 budget.

Economy analyst Constantin Rudnitchi told HotNews.ro that the „Government decision is a compromise. As far as I remember, the Government first offered 480 RON, and trade unions demanded 540 RON.”

For consumers, this is a good thing because it will lead to better salaries in Romania, he said. „But there is also a threat. It’s obvious that the inflation targets for next year can be threatened. People earn more, spend more”, and that leads to higher prices.

Summing it up, a salary boost „is good for employees but worrisome for the budget and inflation”, Rudnitchi said.