Local Romanian Prime Minister pushes for a 10% reduction in the number of employees in local administrative bodies

In a surprising turn of events, Romanian Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan has proposed a reform aimed at reducing the number of employees in the local administration by approximately 13,000 (10%). This proposal is part of a broader local administration reform, which is expected to be agreed upon by the ruling coalition members within two weeks.

The current number of filled positions in the local administration stands at 129,000, out of a maximum possible of 190,000. However, the total number of positions created by the local administration is 164,000, meaning that there are 61,000 positions currently vacant. These unfilled positions are crucial when it comes to budget planning and, moreover, serve as a base for calculating the number of top management positions.

The PM's proposal to cut the number of positions by 10% was initially met with little resistance. This led Prime Minister Bolojan to suspect that he had been misled by local administration representatives and the Ministry of Development about the impact of the proposed cuts. After further research, he realised that the 25% cut would have left all the employees in their places. Consequently, the PM requested a 40%-45% cut in the total number of positions, which is nearly double the 25% figure initially announced.

This proposal has met fierce resistance from most of the political parties in the ruling coalition. The National Liberal Party (PNL), the Social Democratic Party (PSD), and the Democratic Alliance of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR) have voiced their opposition to the proposed cuts. Prime Minister Bolojan, however, has conditioned his stay in the post on a broad support from the ruling coalition for his proposed local administration reform.

In a statement, PM Bolojan did not present his proposal as a threat but as a common-sense observation. He emphasised that if solutions are not found in the administration, the reform package is incomplete. The political parties within the Romanian governing coalition support Prime Minister Ilie Bolojan's proposal to reduce the number of local administration positions by around 40% to 45%.

The photo source for this article is Gov.ro. The article was written based on research by iulian@our website. The local administration reform, including the proposed cuts, is still under discussion and awaits the coalition's final decision. If approved, the reform could bring significant changes to Romania's local administration.

Stay tuned for more updates on this developing story.

Local Romanian Prime Minister pushes for a 10% reduction in the number of employees in local administrative bodies