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The minimum gross wage in the country increases to 3,300 lei from 1 October
The gross minimum basic wage guaranteed in payment is increased to 3,300 lei per month from 1 October 2023, an increase of 10% from the current level of 3,000 lei.
This increase in the minimum gross wage at 3,300 lei will be covered by 1,867,588 employees.
‘Starting with 1st October 2023, the gross minimum basic wage in the country guaranteed in payment (…) is set in money, not including allowances, bonuses and other allowances, at the amount of 3,300 lei per month, for a normal working schedule of 165,333 hours per month, representing 19,960 lei/hour’ reads the Decision approved by the government on 28th September, published in the Official Gazette.
This increase in the gross minimum basic wage in the country guaranteed in payment represents a net salary of 2,079 lei, compared to 1,898 lei, as it was until now. This measure does not apply to employees in agriculture and the food industry, for which the current legal provisions apply.
‘The measure means the reduction of the number of employees in risk of poverty and social exclusion and it will have positive effects at social level through the stimulation of employment and through the increase of their purchasing power’ the ministry of work and social solidarity says.
Until the end of this year there is also a tax facility, namely a deduction of 200 lei, applied to the national minimum wage, according to GEO 168/2022.
One day after the decision of the government to increase the minimum salary starting with 1st October, the executive manager of the Employers Confederation Concordia, Radu Burnete said that this will break a custom and one of the few predictable things for the business environment, namely that ‘it was negotiated in the autumn of the current year among trade unions, employers associations and the government to become effective at the beginning of next year’.
‘The government adopted the increase of the minimum wage with application starting 1st October 2023. We say once again that it is wrong that this increase be implemented in such a short time – it is three days until application. Practically, tomorrow, all companies should update all contracts for the employees paid with minimum wage. Moreover, the companies have salary budgets established for the current year on the basis of the negotiations we had last year. At present, the economic perspectives for 2024 are damaged, the business environment is subject to a series of foreign economic pressure, and predictability is already very low due to lack of transparency for all fiscal measures’ Burnete said in a press release sent on Friday.
On the other hand, Bloc National Sindical drew attention that, at present, the deduction of 200 lei applied to the minimum wage must be clarified from a judicial point of view.
The trade unionists say that the increase of the national minimum wage from 3,000 to 3,300 lei, if the 200 lei facility is not waived, will bring to the budget in the last three months of the year additional revenues of about 666 million lei.
If the minimum wage is increased and the facility is waived, public budget revenues will increase by 1.1 billion lei by the end of the year.