PSD decries PNL's social experiments with establishing minimum wage

The Social Democratic Party (PSD) argues that the calculation model proposed by National Liberal Party (PNL) for establishing the minimum wage, pegged to labour productivity and inflation, will have a strong negative impact on society, while such a random experiment would only deepen social disparities and amplify the exodus of the workforce from Romania to other European Union member states."

PSD calls for the solidarity of the trade union organisations to defend the rights of the employees won under the social-democratic government and to determine the Orban government to adopt fair and European solutions regarding the establishment of the minimum wage.

"The right way, which is agreed upon at the level of the European Union and which provides predictability to the business environment, is that the minimum wage should be pegged to the increase in the average wage so as to avoid widening social disparities between those on high incomes and those on low incomes. Such an approach welcomes the proposals for establishing a European minimum wage, as a flat percentage of the average wage registered in each member state. The concept is already endorsed by European leaders, such as the President of France, Emmanuel Macron; Vice-President of the European Commission Frans Timmermans, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. PSD is advocating Romania joining the member states that support the introduction of a European minimum wage," PSD says in a press statement released on Friday.

At the same time, PSD "is strongly" condemning what it says are PNL's intentions to abolish the differentiated minimum wage for university graduates. "It is an approach specific of the communist regimes designed to brutally eliminate the differences between intellectuals and the 'proletariat,'" according to PSD, who argues that the effect of such a measure would amplify the exodus of young higher education graduates from Romania.

"The argument put forth by Finance Minister Florin Citu that Romania would be the only country in the world where there are differentiated minimum wages is a big lie. Elsewhere in the European Union there are six countries setting differentiated minimum wages by qualification. They are Belgium, Hungary, Slovakia, Estonia, and Luxembourg. There are also EU member states that have set differentiated minimum wages at regional level or depending on the branch of activity," says PSD.