Unionists want the minimum wage at 850 lei (EUR193) this year, while the Government’s proposition is an increase to RON800 from RON700. The council for social dialog, which gathers representatives of unionists, employers and the government, will soon meet to take a decision.
Romania and the IMF signed a EUR3.6 billion precautionary loan agreement in April 2011, successor to a larger EUR20 billion international bailout package received during 2009-2011. The agreement is supplemented by a EUR1.4 billion loan from the EU and another EUR1 billion from the World Bank.
Joint teams from the IMF, the EU and the World Bank will be in Bucharest between January 15 and January 29 for the seventh and eighth reviews of the loan program.
Romania’s state budget for 2013 has yet to be approved by the new Parliament, as debates on the draft act were set back by parliamentary elections held on December 9.
Prime Minister Victor Ponta said recently the Parliament will convene an extraordinary session on January 21 to approve the draft state budget for 2013 and other bills that must be adopted with urgency. (EUR1=RON4.3894)