Public Sector Unions: Protest Strike on Monday

The Public Sector Unions (military and civilian) denounced in a statement the approval by the Council of Ministers of the decree on installment payments for retroactive financial entitlements, in clear violation of the opinion reached by the State Council, and affirmed that the law does not permit such installment payments, advocating instead for the removal of the installment clause and the payment of these dues in full.

They stated that "this decree, in our view, constitutes a serious breach of legal principles and the principle of legality, a disregard for the role of the State Council, and raises serious questions about the extent to which the executive authority respects laws enacted by the Parliament, particularly Law No. 44/2026, which approved necessary funding to improve the conditions of employees and retirees." They rejected "the approach pursued by the Minister of Finance, based on alarmism and citing lack of funds whenever it comes to rights of civil servants, educational bodies, military personnel, retirees, contractors, and other low-income groups, while the state clearly demonstrates its ability to secure funds for other sectors and entities."

They emphasized that "the Minister of Finance is clearly circumventing our rights and the path toward salary improvements approved by the Council of Ministers on February 16, 2026, which mandates gradual improvement of salaries for employees and retirees, reaching approximately 50% of their actual value compared to 2019, effective January 1, 2027—equivalent to nearly thirty times what salaries were at that time. The installment of retroactive payments and evasion of full payment represent an attempt to undermine this trajectory and bypass the decision to improve our living conditions." They added: "Public funds must be managed according to law, fairness, and national priorities, not according to selectivity or arbitrariness. The rights of civil servants, military personnel, retirees, and contractors are not favors from anyone, and they cannot be turned into tools for pressure, bargaining, or delay. They cannot be split into installments by administrative decree when the law does not allow it."

They held the Council of Ministers, particularly the Minister of Finance, fully responsible for the consequences of this decision, and called on them to immediately revoke the decree, comply with the provisions of Law No. 44/2026, respect the opinion of the State Council, and adopt the payment of all retroactive entitlements in full.

They added: "Accordingly, the Public Sector Unions (military and civilian) announce a general strike starting Monday morning, October 10, followed by a progressive escalation through demonstrations, sit-ins, and other mobilization actions, until the decree is revoked, the violation corrected, and affairs restored to their legal status. The union holds the entire government fully responsible for any consequences resulting from this action, as this escalation is a direct outcome of their decision to split entitlements and their failure to respond to legitimate and lawful demands of entitled parties. The union also calls on all military and civilian personnel, retirees, educational institutions, contractors, and other entitled individuals and low-income groups to rally around this movement and actively participate in it, defending their rights and rejecting policies of delay, installment payments, and discrimination in handling their entitlements."

They concluded: "This is not merely a financial struggle, but a fight to defend the rule of law and the dignity of the civil servant, military personnel, retiree, teacher, contractor, and every individual with a right. Rights established by law are indivisible; they cannot be fragmented or split by decrees that violate the law, nor can they be subject to intimidation or negotiation."