Romania's new single public-sector pay bill eliminates 87 of 151 existing bonuses - a cut of nearly 57%, acting Labor Minister Dragos Pislaru said on Monday.

'The issue is not only how much money people take home. The major problem is equity - people compare what they earn with what others earn, including for the same work or for benefits that are not justified by law,' Pislaru said.

He added that Romania's 'national sport' of multiplying bonuses had created 151 separate allowances in the public system. 'We are eliminating 87 of them - almost 57%. It is abnormal to try to fix pay inequities through bonuses when the system should be unitary,' he said.

According to Pislaru, bonuses will be capped at 20% for each main budget-authorising institution. A new performance-based bonus system of 10 - 20% of base salary will be introduced, applicable to up to 30% of employees.

'The base salary must evolve predictably. Bonuses should remain limited. And performance pay must finally be real, not discretionary,' he said, noting that the new system will be capped in the first year at 4% of the total wage envelope.

Pislaru also stressed that the new law will remain unchanged for five years, after the previous framework (Law 153/2017) was amended 43 times between 2017 and 2022.

'This legislation must remain as it is for five years - that is part of the political agreement and of the NRRP commitments. Salary laws are not meant to be renegotiated every year, pay frameworks should be revised only over longer cycles to preserve stability,' he said.

The Labor Ministry published on Monday afternoon the draft law - including pay grids and the implementation calendar - for public consultation. The bill will next be sent to Parliament to begin the legislative process. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Oana Tilica; EN - writing by: Simona Klodnischi)