Threatened by a wave of protests not only from teachers, but also from police and health workers, the Government wants to increase their salaries through GEO to the maximum salary set by law for 2022. The salary increase will be applied from June 2023.

Having increased from June 1, 2023, the salaries of non-teaching staff of education, as well as other state employees who hold general positions in Appendix 8 of the Law on wages, now the Government is preparing to do the same with other categories of employees in the same situation.

The Ministry of Labor launched on Tuesday in public consultations a draft of the emergency regulation, with which it wants to bring to the maximum level of wages for 2022, provided for by the framework law 153/2017, as well as workers in Annex 2 (Health care) and workers in Annex VI (Defence, public order and national security).

• SEE DRAFT GEO AND KEYNOTE

Workers with salary delays in health care: nurses, porters, scrubbers, laundresses or caretakers

From the explanatory note, it is indicated which of the health care workers delayed the salary.

It is about part of the medical and sanitary personnel and auxiliary sanitary personnel of the professional family of budgetary functions “HEALTH AND SOCIAL ASSISTANCE” from the appendix no. II to the Framework Law No. 153/2017, respectively, medical statisticians, medical registrars, nurses, porters, boys, cleaners, laundresses, caretakerswho did not reach the maximum wage level provided for in the grid.

• “Unlike the rest of the staff who receive wages under this supplement (doctors, nurses, other specialized staff with higher education, etc.), these categories of staff are the only ones from supplement #1. II to the Framework Law No. 153/2017, who have not reached the maximum size of the official salary in the grid.
• Given the main problem in the field of social assistance, the lack of specialized personnel, as well as the challenges faced by social assistance systems (the COVID pandemic, the crisis in Ukraine, the increase in the number of elderly people in Romania, the crisis of the labor force in the field of social assistance, labor migration to other member states to the detriment of Romania and not only), it is proposed to raise the basic salary for specialized personnel in the field of social assistance to the level of the basic salary provided for by the Framework Law No. 153/2017 for 2022.” this is shown in the reasons for GEO.

And from June 1, the salaries of policemen and military personnel will be increased to the maximum level for 2022

The document notes that the government’s latest increase in salaries of budget employees from Annex 8 “Professional group of budgetary functions “Administration” concerned approximately 8,000 employees of the system of defense, public order and national security.

So, prerequisites are created for salary differentiation in relation to the rest of the employees of the system (police and military)employees according to Annex No. VI to the Framework Law No. 153/2017, for which the level of salary/balance of positions was not increased until the competition of the level provided for by the law for 2022.

The police and military will remain the only categories of personnel that will not have fixed salaries.

The budget impact is more than 813.4 million lei in 2023

According to the GEO draft, which could be adopted at the next cabinet meeting this week, all these increases will apply from June 2023.

The explanatory note also provides an assessment of the financial impact on the consolidated general budget both in the short-term perspective for the current year and in the long-term (5 years).

Thus, for this year the budget impact is more than 813.4 million lei, and in the next 4 years the financial impact will be slightly more than 1.5 billion lei per year.

What kind of protests did the police threaten and what Bode promised them

The National Union of Police and Contract Workers (SNPPC) announced back on May 29 that they would begin street protests from June 6, threatening to block the system if their demands were not met.

Trade unions complain about “an unprecedented shortage of personnel in the Police Department, when for the first time there were 0.57 candidates for a place in police schools after the knowledge test stage.”

Unions also argue that the medical examinations will further reduce the number of candidates remaining in the election.

The main demands of trade unionists from the MAI:

• 1. Full application of Law 153/2017 for the entire professional family of defense, public order and national security, starting from 01.07.2023.
• 2. Withdrawal of Law 223/2015 from the PNRR. We do not agree with the amendments proposed in the Senate to the law 223/2015, nor with the new amendments proposed in the Chamber of Deputies.”

Interior Minister Lucian Bode invited trade unionists to consultations on May 30, announcing later what solutions he proposed.

• “Regarding the salary component, it was agreed that from June 1, 2023, their level will be applied to the balances and official salaries, as provided for in the Framework Law No. 153/2017 on the salaries of employees paid from public funds for the year 2022.
• This means that post balances and salaries will be increased to the statutory level for 2022, starting with June salary entitlements paid in July 2023.
• Regarding allowances/allowances and other entitlements that make up the salaries of military personnel and police officers in the MAI, it was agreed that they are provided in full in accordance with the Framework Law no. 153/2017 regarding staff salaries paid from state funds, which should be taken into account during the first revision of the budget this year.
• With regard to the law on military pensions, a draft regulatory act that is being discussed in the Verkhovna Rada, the leadership of the Ministry of Internal Affairs informed the representatives of the trade unions present at the meeting that it would support all the amendments formulated and adopted by the institutions of the national system of defense, public order and national security, the changes with which they agree of the MAI trade union.” reported at that time in the MAI.

The Japanese strike begins on Wednesday during the health march/protest on Thursday

Health workers in Japan will go on strike from Wednesday, and on Thursday they will organize a protest march starting at 11:00 along the route Piața Victoriei (Government) – Piața Revoluției (Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Health) – Piața Constituției ( parliament). ). Medical unions are also threatening to initiate a general strike at the end of June if the Government does not take a decision on their demands by June 15.

The Solidarity Health Federation announces that representatives of all medical professions are expected at the rally on Thursday, “because we have all been affected by injustice in one way or another.”

What does not suit the trade union health care workers:

• shifts, non-working days and increases in working conditions are calculated on the basis of “past wages” (except basic wages), which no longer have anything to do with current prices;
• the watchman’s rate is also calculated based on “past salary”;
• discounted meals are valid for more than 3 years;
• basic salaries, in general, are not established/do not have a level of growth, as they should (according to the version we discussed with the Ministry of Health).

“Protest actions are held with members of the “Solidarity of Health” trade unions, but all medical workers who support our demands (all their beneficiaries) can participate in them. The more interested people participate, the greater the chance to force the governors to fulfill our demands,” the Solidaritatea Sanităra trade unionists said in a statement.