Gherghina said an estimated 26,000 public servants should be laid off by end-December, to enable a 15% salary raise in 2011. The Romanian public sector employed 1,378 million people in December 2009, meaning around 88,000 people should be sacked this year. The staffs of local authorities, the education and agriculture sectors will also be reduced, said Gherghina, as not all of the scheduled layoffs have gone through.
The official confirmed that the Government agreed with the International Monetary Fund and European Commission not to raise the minimum wage by more than the rate of inflation of the last two years, or more than 670 lei (EUR1=RON4.2862).
In its previous letter of intent to the IMF, the Government maintained its pledge to let go at least 74,000 public servants by the end of the year, having already sacked 27,000, as well as at least 15,000 employees in 2011.
The Government has committed to reducing the budget deficit from 6.8% of GDP this year to 4.4% in 2011.