Pay legislation: the reference value for public sector salaries drops to 4,000 RON

The draft pay legislation proposes reducing the reference value used to calculate public sector employees' salaries from 4,100 RON to 4,000 RON. Trade unions had called for the opposite — an increase of this indicator to the level of the gross minimum wage, set at 4,325 RON. According to Realitatea PLUS, combined with cuts to allowances, this change risks leading to income reductions for several categories of public sector workers.

How public sector salaries are calculated

State employees' salaries are calculated by multiplying the reference value by the coefficients set by law for each position. In practice, reducing the reference value to 4,000 RON will automatically affect the final sum, independently of any subsequent changes to allowances. The concrete impact will vary depending on the coefficient applicable to each post and the final form of the rest of the legislation, including its other salary components.

The new reference value of 4,000 RON is due to be applied to December 2026 salaries. For 2027, the reference value will be recalculated based on the average RON-euro exchange rate and data provided by the National Commission for Strategy and Prognosis, which will be prepared by the institution and subsequently submitted to the Government.

The Government may change the value by decree, without new legislation

Another significant element of the draft law is that it grants the Government the right to amend the reference value in future through a simple Government decree, without requiring legislation passed through Parliament. As such, both increases and reductions to the indicator will remain at the Executive's discretion.

The fact that the value has already been reduced — from 4,100 to 4,000 RON — fuels concerns that this mechanism for making changes by Government decree will be used for further cuts rather than pay rises. This is compounded by the reduction in allowances, which puts additional pressure on public sector workers' incomes. The final form of the legislation will reveal exactly which categories of employees will be affected and how significant the income reductions will be.