How much will the minimum wage increase? This seems to have become the main issue of the economy, as the government is negotiating with the unions raising wages even though its pockets are empty.
The government is proposing raising the minimum wage by 40 lei, from the current level of 600 lei to 640 lei. Unions consider it is not enough and claim that a raise of 150 lei would be the most adequate alternative, because in their opinion a minimum wage of 750 lei would be needed to eliminate the black market labor.
The unyielding position of the unions relies on the government"s commitments taken in the previous years that by 2014-2015 the minimum wage should reach 50% of the average wage for the gross average wage.
If the minimum wage is raised, this would cause a spiraling increase of all the wages in the public sector, just after they"ve been cut by 25%. It"s completely nonsensical.
* In the public sector, revenues and expenses of the general consolidated budget are expected to drop
* The private sector has cut back on its spending and considers that the raise of the minimum wage would be an aberrant decision
Talks about wage hikes, even if such a hike would only apply to the minimum wage, are really coming at a bad time, and are unsustainable in these times of crisis, as the budget is strapped for cash, and the economic forecasts for this year expect the economy to contract by as much as -1.9%.
The negotiations come just after the government cut wages in the public sector by 25%, has increased the taxation base and has taken 4.36 billion lei from the social security budget and transferred it to the state budget.
The lack of sustainability comes just as the government estimated, in last week"s budget revision, that its revenues to the consolidated general budget, as well as its spending would drop by 3.44 billion