Romanian Govt To Reduce Variable Salaries, Layoff Employees To Limit Staff Expenses

The general consolidated budget's total staff expenses may not be increased in budget revisions over the year and negotiations on certain rights introduced by collective labor contracts need to comply with staff spending ceilings.

At the same time, normative acts leading to higher public staff expenses may not be promoted in the last three months of the Government's term or that of elected local public administration leaders, according to the draft law of fiscal responsibility, approved Tuesday by the Government and obtained by MEDIAFAX.

In order to meet quarterly staff expenses ceilings, ministers may lower variable and optional salary rights. Ministers that exceed the quarterly ceiling will have to save up the excess in the next quarter. Until this obligation has been fulfilled, they may not: grant bonuses, pay overtime, promote employees if this implies an increase in staff expenses, or fill vacant positions.

Ministers are obliged to take any measure to save up on staff expenses as well as meet the quarterly targets on total expenses "including cutting down on the number of jobs and their budgets and by laying off part of their staff," the law says.

The Finance Ministry will evaluate staff expenses at the end of each quarter.

Prime Minister Emil Boc asked the Parliament Tuesday to debate the law of fiscal responsibility urgently. The law's adoption is an obligation taken up by Romanian authorities in negotiations with the International Monetary fund and the European Commission.

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