Prime Minister Marcel Cholaku assured on Monday that the increase of the minimum wage in the construction, agriculture and food industry will be regulated before the introduction of the health insurance payment (CASS) so that the salaries of these workers do not decrease.

• “With 100% certainty, when CASS is introduced, no one will lose their salary. I think that’s the most important thing.” he said on Monday Prime Minister Marcel Cholaku.

Thus, he answered journalists’ questions about when the Government will adopt regulations to increase these salaries so that they are not affected by the implementation of the CASS payment proposed in the draft law on fiscal budget measures passed by Çolak in Parliament.

The government found that the net minimum wage of workers in 3 sectors would decrease due to the implementation of CASS

On Thursday, the government adopted a resolution according to which the minimum gross salary was increased from 3,000 to 3,300 lei per month as of October 1.

On the other hand, the order to increase salaries in construction, agriculture and food industry was removed from the executive agenda after the problem was discovered.

According to Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku, the calculations of the Ministry of Finance show that the minimum net salary of workers in these three industries may have decreased due to the introduction of CASS.

What should be the minimum wages in construction and agriculture so that workers are not affected by CASS payments – NBS proposals

The National Block of Trade Unions proposes to the government to increase the minimum wage to 4,600 lei gross for the construction industry, and to 3,500 lei gross in agriculture, so that workers in these industries do not lose out after they start paying CASS, but get a little more than they do now.

NBS shows that currently the minimum gross salary in construction is 4,000 lei, and the minimum net salary (without payment of CASS and income tax) is 3,150 lei.

The implementation of the increase of the minimum wage in construction to 4,500 lei, as the government planned until recently, will mean that when the law, for which Prime Minister Çolaku took responsibility in parliament, comes into force, the net minimum wage will be reduced by 56 lei.

In order to maintain at least the net value of the minimum wage in the sector, the minimum gross wage in the sector must increase to at least 4,600 lei, says the NBS.

At this value, after the payment of CASS, the minimum net salary will be 3162 lei, which is 12 lei higher than now.

The measure targets more than 417,000 workers in the construction industry, the National Block of Trade Unions claims.

In agriculture, the minimum gross salary is currently 3,000 lei, and thanks to CASS and income tax exemptions, agricultural workers have a minimum net salary of 2,363 lei.

In the agricultural sector, the situation is even more complicated, applying the national minimum wage of 3,300 lei would mean a 94 lei reduction in net wages for workers in the sector immediately after the tax comes into effect. of the reform proposed by the Government, reports NBS.

To mitigate the effects of the new fiscal measures, the minimum wage in agriculture should be increased to at least 3,500 lei, the National Bank of Romania says.

At this value, after CASS payment, the minimum net salary would reach 2,406 lei, which is 44 lei higher than the current net salary.

Another scenario is an increase of the minimum wage to 3,450 lei, in which case, after the payment of CASS, the net minimum wage will reach 2,372 lei, which is 9 lei more than it is now.

• Read more: What should be the minimum wages in construction and agriculture so that workers are not affected by the payment of KAS – proposals of the NBS of the Government