The Secretary General of the Government, Radu Oprea, declared on Thursday that employers’ associations do not support the increase in the minimum wage in the economy, the unions support it, and opinions within the Government are divided.

„There was also the CNT (tripartite social dialogue) meeting. As expected, the employers’ associations do not support the increase in the minimum wage in the economy, the unions do. Opinions are divided in the Government. The conclusion is, we are doing another analysis and the decision regarding the increase in the minimum wage is postponed until the end of November,” Oprea wrote on Facebook.

He mentioned that one of his personal conclusions is that the model proposed by employers is wrong for the labor market.

„Personal conclusions. 1. We are captive to the prejudices and beliefs of employers in Romania. The empirically demonstrated reality shows that as a result of the increase in the minimum wage in the economy, neither productivity decreased (on the contrary, it increased) nor the number of jobs. 2. The model that the employers’ associations propose is wrong for the labor market. Stagnation in low wages results in the migration of qualified labor to Western countries. Replacing them with workers from outside the EU is not a solution for increasing competitiveness in the long term, and if we were to extend the analysis to the demographic area, we would see the disaster of these policies. The only correct solution to limit the departure of Romanians to other countries is convergence with incomes in the EU. 3. Of course, the German model is wrong because they decided to increase the minimum wage even though they are in recession. They „They thought of stimulating demand, that is, consumption, which would be an engine for relaunching the economy? I don’t think they are so stupid, only SMEs in Germany are all export-oriented, not for satisfying the domestic market. I hope you noticed the acrimony,” Oprea said.

Radu Oprea stated that he continues to believe that an increase in the minimum wage is an appropriate measure in the current economic conditions, including maintaining the 300 RON deduction.

The German federal government decided on Wednesday to increase the minimum wage in the economy in two steps, namely, to 13.90 euros gross per hour starting January 1, 2026 and to 14.60 euros gross per hour at the beginning of 2027, compared to the current level of 12.82 euros, reports the EFE agency.AGERPRES