Romania advances salary law reforms for officials and cultural staff

The Romanian Ministry of Labour continued consultations on a new salary law, meeting representatives of the public administration and dignitaries. The draft would raise salaries for top officials, including a projected net salary of about 19,200 lei for the president and significant increases for MPs, senators and senior public managers. Interim labour minister Dragoș Pîslaru warned that the executive may freeze or stagger these hikes because of budget constraints, while assuring that no public‑sector wages would be cut.

Separately, the Ministry of Culture submitted proposals to the Labour Ministry to eliminate salary gaps between national and local cultural institutions. Using World Bank methodology, the ministry seeks to align remuneration for museum, library, archival and archaeological specialists with that of senior teachers, factoring in education, responsibility and work hazards. The changes aim to address long‑standing disparities for thousands of cultural professionals and are tied to the implementation of the salary law, which is linked to a €700 million tranche of EU recovery funds.