Starting January 1, salaries in the education sector are expected to increase by an average of 10–15 percent; in health care and the social sector, by approximately 17 percent; in defense, by 19 percent; and in law enforcement and public administration, by about 15 percent.
According to the government, one of the main changes involves an increase in the base salary, which will include most allowances. Thus, the base salary will account for at least 70% of total compensation, while the variable portion may not exceed 30%.
Another change aims to reduce the disparities between the lowest and highest salaries in the public sector. Whereas previously the ratio between the highest and lowest salaries on the pay scale was 1:15, it is to be reduced to 1:10.5.
The performance bonus will also be modified. It may not exceed 4% of the base salary and will no longer be an automatically granted addition, but will instead be used to incentivize employees with good performance.
As for one-time bonuses, the fund allocated for them will be reduced from 5% to a maximum of 2% of the annual base salary fund. Authorities maintain that the goal is to increase base salaries and ensure a more predictable income for public-sector employees, at the expense of a larger variable component.
The reform also calls for a reduction in the number of reference values used to calculate salaries. This number will decrease from 10 in 2026 to 6 in 2027, eventually reaching 4 by 2032.
“Compensation for the Delay”
The government will partially compensate for the delay in salary increases by granting, in October, one-time payments to all public sector employees whose gross salary is less than 20,000 lei.
Education employees—administrative staff, teaching staff, and teaching support staff—will each receive 4,000 lei.
Public-sector employees in the social services, national defense and public order, health, culture, sports, justice, and public administration sectors will each receive 3,000 lei.
Public sector employees in the technical sector will each receive 2,000 lei.
These payments serve as a compensatory measure until the new salary increases take effect. At the same time, a new salary law is being drafted, which is set to be approved by the government in October and submitted to Parliament.
Thus, the Government has not met the unions’ demand for a salary increase for teachers.
“To be blunt, the budget currently lacks the funds to launch this reform in September. However, I assure you that the results of our fiscal policy, as well as other measures we are taking to reduce waste, make public spending more efficient, and improve the efficiency of state-owned companies, all the things we have set out to do in this government program will provide the necessary resources so that, starting January 1, we can deliver the promised increases,” said Prime Minister Vasile Tofan.
Follow our updates
