The people working in the education sector are the main beneficiaries of the common salary grade introduced in the new law on salaries in the public sector. This grade envisions the reduction of the current discrepancy of about 33% between the lowest and highest salaries, Minister of Finance Octavian Armașu was quoted by IPN as saying in the talk show “Issue of the day” on Canal 2 TV channel.

According to him, the pay raise in the public sector will be non-uniform because this law fundamentally changes the principle of remunerating public sector employees. “We reduce the current discrepancy of about 33% between the lowest and highest salaries given that we include all the public sector employees in a common tariff grade.  I hope many professions in the public sector will be remunerated appropriately. The pay raise for teachers will be of about 25% on average, varying between 20% and 80%,” stated Octavian Armașu.

Educator assistants will enjoy the highest salary raises. “Currently, educator assistants have a salary of 1,700 lei on average. We want to ensure an average of about 3,200 lei for next year, which is a rise of 83%,” said the minister.

Gennady Donos, president of the Education Trade Unions Federation, said the demands of trade unions weren’t fully satisfied within the salary reform, but the law is positive. About 40% of the education system employees had a salary lower than the minimum subsistence level, of 1,100-1,300 lei. Now the lowest salary will be 2,000 lei. “Our key demand, to increase teachers’ pays by 50%, wasn’t satisfied as the raise is of only about  25%. But this is a first step and the figure is appropriate,” he stated.

According to Gennady Donos, the one-time allowance of 120,000 lei intended for young specialists is a very important support for motivating young people to enter the education system, which is as important as the rehabilitation of the image of teachers.

In accordance with the reform concept, the fixed salary will represent 80%, while the variable salary 20%. “This aspect can also be debated, but we will not insist here as the law has a well-defined concept and this is only a start,” said the president of the Education Trade Unions Federation.