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Prime Minister Ludovic Orban has given assurances that the minimum wage will increase, saying nothing about the size of the increase, just that the government is looking into suggestions from trade unions and employers' associations.
"Sure, employers' associations mostly support our proposal. As far as the unions are concerned, they came up with some proposals that we are looking into, but they will be rather the basis for further discussions we will conduct in the coming year to define the legal mechanism by which the minimum wage increase will be established. I have retained the desire of some to rely on forecasts for the coming year. Of course, many times the forecasts ... I can give you only one example: the 2019 budget was built on a forecast of economic growth of 5.5%, while in reality economic growth in 2019 will probably be around 4%," said Orban at the end of the launch event of an anniversary banknote "The Completion of the Great Union - Ion I.C. Bratianu."
Asked if the minimum wage will increase on January 1, Orban replied: "It will increase. We are analysing and adding to our model the proposals that have been made especially by the trade union confederations, and we will make a decision as soon as possible."
Orban said that there are many factors that influence the exchange rate of the local currency, the leu, against the single European currency, the euro. "It is known that December is a month in which consumption increases. We have an extremely wide trade deficit. Demand for imported commodities increases greatly in December, and that is why there is a very high demand for euros that puts a strain the leu-to-euro exchange rates," said Orban.
