Public servants received the highest salary increases (42 percent in euros) in the first nine months of this year, compared with the same time last year. Moreover, their salaries increased by 181 percent and have almost tripled over the last three years (September 2007 - September 2004), a survey carried out by ZIARUL FINANCIAR reveals based on National Statistics Institute data.
Bureaucrats dominate the ranking of the highest salary increases over the last few years, with the state turning out to be the most generous employer for over 200,000 public servants. Public servants also held the top spot in terms of last year's salary increases, when their average income went up by 38 percent in euros, on top of the increase that came in the first nine months of this year, 42 percent in euros.
Public servants' average salary of stood at 190 euros in September 2004 only to reach 533 euros in September 2007 (an increase of 181 percent). In comparison, the average net salary across the economy rose by 130 percent, from 145 to 311 euros during the same period.
It was not only public servants' salaries that went through the roof during this period, but also their number. Over the last three years, the number of bureaucrats rose by 45,000, to 203,000 in September 2007, which is an increase of more than 28 percent.
After the significant increases in the number of bureaucrats and their salaries, the Government has proposed a sudden cap for next year: the maximum number of positions in administration will only go up by 3 percent, and the total salary fund (personnel spending of the budget) will increase by only 5 percent, according to provisions in the 2008 draft budget.
The Government's officials in charge of communication could not be reached yesterday to explain the salary increases over the past few years.
After bureaucrats, IT and research s
