He said any additional wage increase will be decided after the country’s public sector is restructured, depending on results of the process.
„In 2011, public sector wages will rise compared to the current levels resulted from a 25% cut. If we eliminate the 13th salary, as we plan to, we can have a 10% wage growth from the start. Depending on the success of the restructuring process, we may have wage raises of more than 10% but we’ll see about that when the restructuring process ends,” Boc said.
Romanian Finance Minister Sebastian Vladescu recently said public sector wages could rise by 10% next year, if all austerity measures are implemented in a timely fashion.
Romania cut public sector wages by 25% as of July 1 and has promised to sack around 70,000 public sector employees this year, within a plan of austerity measures meant to contain the budget deficit and meet the targets set in the loan agreement concluded with the International Monetary Fund.
The IMF, however, recommended Wednesday that the country should keep salaries at current levels. Jeffrey Franks, head of the IMF mission to Bucharest, said that, if spending is kept in tight check, there might be room for some salary hikes, but the IMF recommends maintaining the 25% reduction of wages.