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Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă met with representatives of the Health Trade Union Federations

Prime Minister Nicolae-Ionel Ciucă had today a working meeting with representatives of the Health Trade Union Federations, as part of the social dialogue that the Government started with the social sector representatives.

Discussions focused on the legislation regarding the salaries of the health sector personnel, the method of calculation and the granting of salary increases and salary rights for some categories in this sector, as well as funding the continuing training programs for the healthcare personnel.

An important item of discussion was also the package of government measures for managing the energy crisis. Prime Minister stated that these measures are intended to support citizens, regardless of the social field in which they are working, as well as the economic sectors from the effects of rising gas and electricity prices. In addition to the measures currently in place, as of February 1, the Government will come up with new measures to mitigate the effects of the energy crisis, the impact of which will be significant for February and March.

"The Government is open to social dialogue and we are here to find solutions together. We have two common starting points: the interest to find the most appropriate answers to the problems you signalled and the gratitude for the efforts made by the medical system in the context of the health crisis ", the Prime Minister said.

The Head of the Executive mentioned that, in this perspective, the decision was made to provide for the current year budget the necessary funds to increase the health employees salaries by ¼ of the difference between the basic salary provided by the Framework Law no. 153/2017, with subsequent amendments and completions for the year 2022 and pay of December 2021.

The Prime Minister also pointed out that the proposals of the two trade union federations regarding the amendment of the salary law - Framework Law no. 153/2017, will be soon analyzed at the level of the Health, Labor and Finance Ministries, to eliminate inequities. In this context, there will be analyzed the problems reported by the health unions regarding the application of the salary increase of ¼ from the difference between the basic salary provided by the Framework Law no. 153/2017 for 2022 and pay of December 2021 also for the TESA (technical, economic, scientific, administrative) staff in the system. Also, the calculation method for some salary increases of the healthcare staff will be analyzed, to ensure the correct enforcement of the law, in the conditions of the current budgetary resources.

The Government has pledged through the programme for government, to present, within 120 days from the taking over, a calendar for the amendment of the Framework Law no. 153/2017.

In the medium and long term, the Prime Minister and the representatives of the Government have shown that the pay law reform is being considered, a commitment assumed through the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The representatives of the health trade union federations appreciated the Government's openness to dialogue and the interest in finding solutions to the reported social problems. Consultations will continue at the level of line ministries both to address pay related aspects and identify opportunities to finance through PNRR the continuing professional training courses for healthcare personnel.

Attending the meeting on the part of the Government were: Minister of Finance Adrian Câciu, Secretary of State at the Ministry of Labor and Social Solidarity Cristian Vasilcoiu, and the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Health Andrei Baciu.

Attending the meeting on behalf of the Sanitas Federation of Romania were: Chairman Leonard-Sorin Bărăscu and Vice-Chair Iulian Pope. Also, co-chair Celmare Lidia and manager Rotilă Viorel attended the meeting on behalf of the Romanian Health Solidarity Federation.