Directors in state-held companies earn more than their bosses

General managers in state-held companies earn lower salaries than the directors subordinated to them – which has been made possible by the fact that salaries of general managers have been capped at the level of a state secretary, while those of subordinated positions are paid in line with provisions of the Collective Employment Agreement. Officials in the Economy Ministry say this is an anomaly, with several general managers planning to leave their positions on account of this. On the other hand, heads of state-held companies can also be remunerated at the end of the year via their mandate contracts, with sums also limited to a maximum of 87,000 RON (around 20,700 euros), i.e. somewhere in the region of what a multinational head earns per month.

“This situation is found across all state-held companies, not only in those subordinated to the Ministry of Economy. The limiting of salaries only targeted general managers, but has not affected the others. I understand that this is a crisis situation, but a person’s value must be rewarded with money. We already have many managers thinking about leaving their jobs for this reason,” says Tudor Serban, Secretary of State within the Economy Ministry.