Minimum wages in Romania: High compliance and substantial increases

Gross minimum wages have grown substantially in Romania in recent years, going from €142 per month in 2010, to €663 per month in 2024. The most recent increase between 2023 and 2024 was comparatively more moderate, at 10%, but still well above the EU average and larger than inflation in the country, which was 7%[1]. Despite these increases, Romania still has the third-lowest national minimum wage in the EU, and minimum wage workers pay a proportionately large social insurance contribution compared to other Member States.

Minimum wages in Romania and the EU were analysed in an information session on Towards adequate minimum wages and strengthening of collective bargaining at Eurofound on 26 April. These exchanges, known as Virtual Visits, take place in the context of Eurofound’s ongoing efforts to reach out to the national level and ensure widespread dissemination and dialogue with respect to its research findings. Eurofound stakeholders, with an interest, knowledge, and experience in the areas of social, employment and work-related policies, attended the session. The session included representatives of government, trade unions and business from Romania.

As Member States prepare to transpose the EU Directive on adequate minimum wages by 15 November 2024, this Virtual Visit focused on minimum wages and how the EU is seeking to improve the situation of low-wage earners through the Directive. Participants were given insights on the forthcoming Minimum wages in 2024: Annual review, which reviews national wage setters’ preparations for the EU Directive.

Eurofound has carried out extensive work on minimum wages over the years, with latest research revealing how Member States are successfully using the minimum wage as a policy tool to address rising inflation, highlighting how the new Directive already seems to be creating an impact. Other research on minimum wages in collective agreements for low-paid workers and a new EU-wide database of minimum pay rates in collective agreements, also highlight how the potential of collective agreements to regulate pay in some countries is not always reached.

Findings specific to Romania were presented by Christine Aumayr-Pintar, Senior Research Manager and Carlos Vacas, Research Manager. Compliance with minimum wage law in Romania was shown to be high. While the subjectively reported ability to make ends meet for the population as a whole is about the same in Romania as for the rest of the EU, there was a higher-than-average proportion of Romanian minimum wage workers struggling to make ends meet.

Going forward, areas of focus for Romania are ensuring that minimum wages allow for a decent standard of living, as well as increasing the coverage of collective bargaining in the country, which is among the lowest in the EU.

More information:

[1] Harmonised index of consumer prices, Eurostat