The plenary session of the Chamber of Deputies on Tuesday adopted a draft law that ensures a new mechanism for establishing the minimum salary level, according to the provisions of a European directive in the field.

The draft law is transposing into national legislation the provisions of Directive (EU) 2022/2041 of the European Parliament and of the Council of October 19, 2022, regarding adequate minimum salaries in the European Union.

The draft law includes regulations to ensure a new mechanism for establishing the minimum salary level. Employees have access to minimum salary protection, in the form of a legal minimum salary or in the form of decent wages and working conditions established under collective labour agreements, collective agreements or other written agreements.

„The gross minimum basic salary represents the minimum amount to which the employee is entitled for the work performed, established by normative act or by the collective labour agreement. The gross minimum basic salary in the country guaranteed in payment represents the amount established annually by Government decision, (. ..) corresponding to the normal work schedule, in order to improve the living and working conditions, especially the adequacy of the minimum salary, in order to ensure a decent standard of living annually by decision of the Government and applies from January 1 of the following year, with periodic updating once a year, after consultation with representative trade union and employer confederations at the national level,” the draft stipulates.

According to him, the gross minimum basic salary in the country guaranteed in payment established by Government decision can be granted to an employee for a maximum period of 24 months, from the date of conclusion of the individual employment agreement. After the expiration of the respective period, the employee is granted a basic salary higher than the gross minimum basic salary in the country guaranteed in payment.

„Non-compliance with the provisions regarding the payment guarantee of the gross minimum basic salary established by normative act or the minimum salary level established by the applicable collective labour agreement is punishable by a fine from 3,000 to 5,000 RON for each person for whom it was found that these provisions were not complied with the legal provisions, without exceeding the cumulative value of 200,000 RON,” the project also provides.

This is a crime and is punishable with imprisonment from one month to one year or with a criminal fine for the act of the person who, repeatedly, sets for the employees under the individual employment agreement salaries below the level of the gross minimum basic salary provided for in this law.

The draft law was adopted by the Senate, and the Chamber of Deputies is the decision-making body in this case.

AGERPRES