RSS
The GDP share of the compensation of employees was 31.5 percent in 2014
In Romania, the GDP share of the compensation of employees was 31.5 percent in 2014, compared to a 60.1 percent European average, a possible consequence of the Romanian governments' intention to be pro-business, Friedrich Ebert Romania Foundation programme coordinator Victoria Stoiciu told a debate on Friday.
"The share of the employees' compensation in the Gross Domestic Product is 31.5 percent in Romania, compared with a 60.1 percent European average. In other words, whereas at European level the employees account for 60 percent, in Romania employees receive half the income of their EU peers, only 30 percent, while 70 percent is directed to capital. This is obviously so because we had governments that told us they want to be the most pro-business in Europe. But the problem is older than our governments' wish of being pro-business, however it is concerning that this share is going down," Victoria Stoiciu said.
According to the data she presented, the indicator is on a declining trend in Romania, from 39.3 percent in 2008 to 31.5 percent in 2013 and 2014, although employment increased by some 300,000 employees from 2011 to 2015.
Moreover, the data Stoiciu presented show that the number of employees paid with the minimum wage increased almost 12 times in three years. Thus, on August 1, 2011 there were 91,136 valid labour agreements and 89,290 active employees paid the minimum wage of 670 lei. At the end of 2014, the number of valid labour agreements reached 1,060,875 and the number of active employees receiving the 900 lei minimum wage stood at 1,050,610.
The Friedrich Ebert Romania Foundation representative also said that, depending on the type of agreement, the in-work poverty risk stood at 54.3 percent for freelancers, 12.1 percent for those with temporary labour agreements and at 4.9 percent in the case of indefinite labour agreements.
The European Institute of Romania, together with Euractiv Network and Freedom House Romania, organised on Friday a debate on the topic "Atypical labour agreements," the first in a series of such talks regarding the labour market.
The debate takes place within the EUROFOUND Romania correspondent network, funded by the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (EUROFOUND), a project implemented over the period March 1, 2014 - February 28, 2018, by a consortium made up by the European Institute of Romania, S.C. Euractiv Network S.R.L and Freedom House Romania.