Florentin Tuca, managing partner of law firm Tuca Zbarcea & Asociatii, made 12.5 million lei (EUR2.8 million) in “self-employment income” in 2013, as shown in the personal financial disclosure statement of his wife, who is a judge.
Among the highest known salaries is Misu Negritoiu’s, who is now chairman of the Financial Supervisory Authority. His personal financial disclosure statement shows him as having been paid almost RON2.3 million by ING in 2013. Still, the highest salary paid last year was BCR vice-president Sergiu Manea’s, who got almost RON2 million as salary and bonuses from the largest local bank.
“Such examples are exceptions that are not indicative of the salary level on the market or the realities in Romania, and one can see this when looking at the situation in hospitals,” said Sorin Roibu, managing partner of human resources and executive search firm Arthur Hunt.
“Despite exceptions, Romania is still seen as a low-cost destination even at management level. A manager of an automotive company in Slovakia with 200 employees makes 40% more than a manager of the same company in Romania, which employs 700 people.”
Statistics show that only 2.4% of the employment contracts in the country, or 140,000, specify a gross monthly salary of more than RON6,000 per month, or 2.3 times higher than the average wage. A quarter of the employees in Romania’s economy earn the minimum wage (RON900 to RON1,000 in gross amount per month), according to their contracts.
The incomes centralized by ZF from the personal financial disclosure statements of top executives who wanted or are still trying to see what it means to work in the public sector are relevant in that they show the extremes of the labor market in Romania. (EUR1=RON4.4454)
(English version by Loredana Fratila-Cristescu)