On Tuesday, representatives of the government, trade unions and employers held consultations on raising the minimum basic wage in the country, the government proposes to raise it to the level of 3,700 lei starting July 1, 2024, including for workers in agriculture and food industry, and maintaining the level of 4,582 lei for workers construction industry. On the other hand, employers proposed to increase to 3,500 lei in July 2024 and then to 3,700 lei in January 2025.

A decision on the guaranteed level of the minimum gross monthly wage for each country will be made at the government level after analyzing proposals from employers and trade unions, the government said in a statement after the meeting.

“Today we proposed to the government in the Tripartite National Council together with CNIPMMR that the minimum wage should increase to 3,500 lei in July 2024 and then to 3,700 lei in January 2025, after which we will enter into a new negotiation mechanism, as we did through PNRR,” explained Radu Burnete, executive director of the Confederation of Concordia Employers.

Burnete says that at least 12 months of predictability is needed and that both the average and minimum wages in Romania are currently moving above inflation over the past two years.

“The Minister of Finance presented us with the basic data for the construction of the budget, we are waiting for the draft budget, as the Government proposes to adopt it. I explained during the meeting that it is important for the business environment that the Government proposes a realistic budget, especially in terms of revenue, but also in terms of expenditure. It would be unacceptable to repeat this year’s scenario, when in the middle of the year we found that the deficit was several percent higher than the budget forecast,” added the executive director of the Concordia Employers’ Confederation.

“In the next year’s budget, we continue the government’s measures to increase purchasing power, support investments and strengthen the discipline of public spending. We are providing the necessary resources to implement new pension legislation, raise wages in education as promised and ensure all social rights. Funds directed to investments will be greater than in 2023 and will reach 7.2% of GDP. The budget for next year will be focused on development, but with an important economic component,” Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku said.

During the consultations, Minister of Finance Marcel Bolosh presented the draft budget for 2024, which is based on economic growth of 3.4% of GDP and takes into account the inflation rate at the end of the year of 4.6%. The expected increase in revenue is based on the implementation of measures to combat tax evasion, the implementation of digitization solutions and improved collection. “As we have repeatedly assured, we will not increase fees or taxes,” Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku emphasized.

Representatives of the Government, trade unions and employers also held consultations on increasing the amount of the minimum basic wage in the country, which is guaranteed in payment.

“We are considering raising the minimum wage in the economy by a percentage that will be reflected in the increase in people’s purchasing power, especially in the context of lower inflation,” said Prime Minister Marcel Čolaku.

The government has proposed to the social partners to increase the gross minimum basic wage in the country from July 1, 2024 to the level of 3,700 lei, including for agricultural and food industry workers, and to maintain the level of 4,582 lei. for workers in the construction industry.

The decision on the level of guaranteed payment of the minimum gross monthly salary in the country will be made at the level of the Government after analyzing the proposals of employers and trade unions.