Economy Minister: No mention in governing program about public sector wage cuts

There is no mention in the National Liberal Party's (PNL) governing program about cutting wages in the public sector, but it's a certainty that the dignitaries' salaries will be frozen, Economy Minister Virgil Popescu told private broadcaster Antena 3 on Thursday evening, when asked to comment on the suggestion of National Bank chief economist Valentin Lazea to cut public servants' wages by 20 percent, according to AGERPRES.

"I read the economist's statement. It's his opinion. This is a scenario he has thought of. I don't think that you could see any mention in PNL's governing program about wage cuts in the public sector. There is not talk about that. We are indeed talking about freezing the salaries of the dignitaries, and I think that's for certain. This will definitely happen just as it happened on January 1, 2020: the salaries of the dignitaries have no longer increased," said Popescu.

Agriculture Minister Adrian Oros too said that such a solution is not feasible.

"I don't think such a solution is feasible either. Of course, any analyst has the right to an opinion. He probably relies on certain data he has access to, but not for one second has this been talked about in the government or the National Liberal Party," Oros said.