The Secretary General of the Government, Radu Oprea, announced that on Wednesday the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue will meet to discuss increasing the minimum wage in the economy, adding that there are solid arguments for increasing it from both a legal, economic and social point of view.
"On Wednesday, the National Tripartite Council for Social Dialogue will be held on the topic of increasing the minimum wage in the economy. As we have become accustomed to lately, it seems that decisions have already been made, and social dialogue lacks consistency. Let's not be surprised then that social tensions are escalating. We have read in the press the positions of employers' organizations and of some politicians who have listened carefully to their opinion. But who listens to those paid the minimum wage in the economy? And they are not few - 838,429 workers (according to data from the Ministry of Labor, excluding those in construction who have a higher minimum wage in the branch). The way in which they feel inflation is different from those with high incomes, the daily basket for those with low incomes is getting poorer than for others," Oprea wrote on Facebook on Friday.
He added that, in conditions where those with low incomes buy fewer and lower-quality products, their health will deteriorate faster, and the Romanian healthcare system will have higher expenses.
"I would like to say a few more things in favor of those who cannot defend themselves because they do not have the resources and then society ignores them. For employers who fear that they will not be able to support the increase in the minimum wage, I ask them to also think from the perspective of how the real decrease in income will affect consumption (retail turnover decreased by 4% in August 2025, compared to August 2024), implicitly the turnover and the possibility of selling their own products. This is truly a vicious circle that must be interrupted. Increasing the minimum wage in the economy can be such an impulse to stimulate consumption. And for those worried that there is no direct link between the increase in the minimum wage and productivity, I tell them that there is empirical data that shows that labor productivity has increased along with its increase. Therefore, I believe that there must be clear discussions in the CNT, with arguments that Go beyond myths and prejudices. "There are solid arguments for increasing the minimum wage in the economy, both from a legal, economic and social point of view. We just have to be open to listening to the voices of those who cannot be present in the Government meeting room," he concluded.
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