Wage law to be enforced following Parliament vote

The Law on several measures required to restore the budget balance is to take effect following the nearly unanimous vote passed by the Romanian lawmakers.

After the Constitutional Court ruled that the Law is constitutional, the vote cast by the Parliament's joint Chambers was a mere formality, having been taken under the pressure of the need that the act should take effect by the next meeting of the IMF Board of Directors, at the same time with a decision to hike the VAT by 5 percent.

The 25 percent cut in the public workers' pay and the 5 percent rise in the VAT up to 24 percent set the prerequisites for the Romanian budget deficit to be narrowed to 6.8 percent this year, according to the level agreed with the IMF in this May.

The Constitutional Court last week ruled unconstitutional the Law's Article 9 that said pensions will be cut by 15 percent and that the pensions of the judges, including the Constitutional Court judges, will be re-calculated.(1 euro=4.35 lei)

Agerpres