All 1.4 million state employees will be forced into a 10-days unpaid holiday by the end of 2009. Further in the news, the Romanian sailors taken as hostages by the Somali pirates have been released. Last but not least, runners for Romania’s presidency might have to pay up 2,000 minimum salaries.
All 1.4 million state employees will be forced into a 10-days unpaid holiday by the end of 2009, as a means to save money for Romania’s state budget, Cotidianul informs. According to a recent Business Standard analysis, the unpaid holiday might save the budget around 350 million euros, meaning 0.37% of the GDP. The pensions will not increase in 2010 as planned. The measures are meant to keep the country budget deficit at 7-7.2%, figures that the IMF agrees with, while estimates indicate a 8.5% deficit.
Pensions and salaries might be frozen temporarily, until a new income scheme is enforced. Plus, 150,000 state employees - about 10% - are likely to lose their jobs, in the Government's chase to reduce the budget deficit close to 3%, indispensable to see Romania joining the euro zone, according to Romanian news agency Mediafax.
According to an analysis performed by Gandul, the next 1.9 billion euros, which the IMF is going to pour into the Finance Ministry's budget, is expected to cover the state pensions, salaries and social insurances for almost one month. Romanian Finance Ministry told Gandul reporters that Romania's plan B is to borrow more money.
Adevarul reads the Romanian sailors taken as hostages by the Somali pirates have been released. In fact, all 16 crew members - 10 Italians, 5 Romanians and one Croat - are now free, according to the Italian Foreign Affairs Ministry. The sailors from an Italian tug boat belonging "Micoperi Marine Contractors" society have been under Somali pirates' arrest since April this year. Four of
