The salaries of about 650,000 public sector employees have increased starting August 1, according to the emergency ordinance on wages in the public sector.

The measure’s budget impact amounts to EUR 195.2 million this year and EUR 583 million next year.

The law tries to remove inequities in the public wage system, said labor minister Dragos Paslaru in June. The bill’s provisions need to be introduced in two stages, the first one starting August 1 and the second one starting December 2017.

The labor minister said that thousands of people leave the country every year due to low income.

The salary increases mostly target the healthcare sector, where the wages of about 163,000 employees have gone up starting yesterday. For example, the salaries of doctors who start out their career will go up by 10%. The doctors who do night guards will get bonuses between 25% and 100%.

The teachers’ salaries will also increase. The raises will not target all the salaries in these sectors and are aimed at reducing imbalances and convincing more young people to become doctors or teachers.

editor@romania-insider.com