Archive:Public employment - Romania
This Statistics Explained article is outdated and has been archived.
- Source: Ministry of the Spanish presidency 2010, publication "Public employment in the European Union Member States" .
This article is part of a set of background articles and introduces public employment in Romania.
Regional and administrative organisation
The constitution approved in 1991 and reformed in 2003 sets out that Romania is a national, sovereign and independent, unitary and indivisible, democratic and multi-party republic. It has been a member of the EU since 2007.
System of government
The Romanian Parliament consists of two Houses: The Senate (Senatul), with 137 members and the Chamber of Representatives (Camera Deputatilor), with 332 representatives elected by popular vote. Parliament approves the Government Programme, raises votes of confidence and censure, etc.
The President is directly elected by a two-round system for a five-year term. He has the right to name the Prime-Minister at his discretion after consulting the political parties in the Parliament. The Prime-Minister proposes a Government Programme to Parliament for its approval.
The Executive Power is made up of the President, the Prime-Minister and his Cabinet. Currently, there are 15 Ministries.
Judiciary Power: The judicial system is independent of the other two branches of government, and is made up of a hierarchical system of courts culminating in the High Court of Cassation and Justice, which is the supreme court of Romania. There are also Courts of Appeal, County Courts and Local Courts. The Romanian judicial system is strongly influenced by the French model as it is based on the Napoleonic Code.
The main functions of The Constitutional Court are to say whether or not a law confirms with the Constitution, whether international agreements are constitutional from the Romanian Constitution point of view, whether the Parliament’s acts are according to the Constitution, it watches over the elections and confirm the result, decides whether a political party is or is not constitutional. The Constitutional Court is made up of nine judges, three named by the President, three by the Chamber of Deputies and three by the Senate, all for a term of nine years. The Court’s decisions may not be overruled by any majority in Parliament.
Regional Organization
Romania is divided into 41 Counties and the Municipality of Bucharest, which has equal rank. Each County is administered by a County Council, whose President has been directly elected by the people since 2008, and a Prefect, who is appointed by the Central Government. The Prefect can not belong to any political party and is responsible for the administration of national affairs at the county level. His main attribution is to watch out that local authorities decisions are according to Romanian laws. Each County is further divided into Town and Communes, the former being urban and the latter being rural localities. There are a total of 319 Towns and 2,893 Communes in Romania, each with its own Mayor and Local Council. The 103 most urbanised and largest towns have the status of Municipality, which gives them greater administrative power in local affairs. Bucharest elects its General Mayor and a General City Council. Its six districts have the same system.
The 41 Counties and Bucharest are grouped in 8 Development Regions, corresponding to the EU NUTS-2 Division.
Public administration
The administrative system in Romania has three levels:
- 1. The State
- 2. The County
- 3. The locality (towns and communes)
At central level there is the Government, with Ministries and Agencies. These are represented at the County level by decentralised public institutions.
Local authorities organise public services at their level on the basis of the population needs.
Public Employment structure
Civil Service
Clasification of public functions
- On the specific of activity:
- general public functions;
- special public functions.
- On the necessary level of studies to exercise the public function:
- class I (four years or more licensed university studies);
- class II (short term licensed university studies);
- class III (licensed secondary school studies).
- On the administrative level of public institutions:
- central public functions;
- territorial public functions;
- local public functions.
- On the level of powers and attributions:
- public functions corresponding to senior (high) civil servants;
- management public functions;
- execution public functions.
Execution public functions are structured in professional grades as follow:
- superior, as maximum level;
- principal;
- assistant;
- beginner.
The three superior professional grades are structured in three levels.
Recruitment
The system of recruitment is based on contest which consists in three steps:
- selection of candidates, which must fulfil the conditions asked for each public function;
- written test;
- interview.
Promotion
Civil servants are entitled to level, grade or class promotion.
They are the subject to an annual evaluation. They receive marks: ”very good”, “good”, “satisfactory”, “unsatisfactory”.
Level promotion is made every two year, at the recommendation of the department leader where the civil servant works if he obtained at his last annual evaluation at least the mark “good”. Exceptionally, the term can be reduced at one year at the recommendation of the chief of the institution where the civil servant works.
Grade promotion is made by contest or exam and the conditions are:
- have at least four years seniority in the grade from which the civil servant promote;
- have at least two years seniority in the level from which the civil servant promote;
- have at least the mark “good” at the last two annual evaluation;
- not have in the administrative record an indelible disciplinary sanction under the Law 188/1999 on the Civil Servants’ Statute.
Class promotion is made when the civil servant obtain a new diploma necessary for the public function in which he promote.
There is a system of fast promotion and the supplementary conditions are:
- have the mark “very good” at the last annual evaluation;
- had at least one form of professional training in the last year.
Civil Service Management Body: The National Agency for Civil Servants acts as a specialised institution in central administration with its own legal status, managing the Civil Service and civil servants.
Statistics: Total Population: 21 700 000; Civil Servants: 178 000; Percentage of female civil servants: 68.93 %.
Rights, obligations, principles and values
Liberty of Expression: Civil servants are entitled to freely express their opinion.
Discrimination: Any kind of discrimination against civil servants for political, union membership, religion, nationality, sex, wealth, social origin, or any other such grounds is forbidden.
Right to Unionization: The right to form and join a union is guaranteed within the limits set out by law. Civil Servants may join professional or any other organizations concerned with the representation of their own interests, fostering professional training or defending their rights. Senior (high) civil servants or civil servants with the authorising officer quality are not allowed to have at the same time leadership positions in a union.
Right to Strike: Civil servants may exercise this right but they must ensure the continuity and efficiency of the public service.
Obligations: Civil servants must carry out their duties with professionalism, impartiality and according to the Law, refraining from any action that might cause damage to individuals or legal persons or to the Civil Servants Body. They must also refrain from expressing or manifesting their political beliefs while exercising their functions. They cannot hold leadership positions in political parties. Senior (high) civil servants are not allowed to be members of a political party.
Civil servants must act under the hierarchical principle rules. If they consider their superiors’ orders to be obviously illegal, civil servants can refuse to obey these orders. In these cases, civil servants must communicate their refusal in writing.
Professional Confidentiality: Civil servants must not reveal information considered as state secrets or those derived from their work in accordance with the provisions established by law. They must keep any facts or information confidential to which they have access during the performance of their duties, except the cases when the free access to information is regulated.
Bribery: Civil servants may not accept or ask for presents or any other benefits directly or indirectly for themselves or for other persons during the performance of their duties.
Asset Declaration: Civil servants must publicly declare their personal assets upon appointment and on leaving their post in accordance with the provisions set out by law. This public statement is updated annually, according to the law.
Incompatibilities: Public service is incompatible with other activity, except teaching, scientific research, literary and artistic creative or other areas of private sector activity, which is directly or indirectly connected with the duties performed under the job description as civil servant.
Political Services: All civil servants, except those employed within the Ministries concerning national defence, security and public order may be appointed to hold a political office. While exercising this new position, they are suspended from the civil service position they hold, although they maintain the class, grade and level obtained. On termination of the office, the public organization in which the civil servant previously worked must offer him/her the position held prior to his/her appointment or another equivalent position. The length of the political office is counted for seniority purposes in the civil service.
Working Hours: The normal working hours for civil servants are 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. Overtime outside the normal working hours under the orders of the superior should be recovered or paid with an addition of 75 % applied on basic salary. The number of overtime hours paid cannot exceed 360 a year. Overtime on legal holidays is paid with an addition of 100 % applied on basic salary.
Leave: Civil servants are entitled to paid leave, sick leave and others stipulated by law. During sick leave, maternity, educational and childcare leave, working conditions cannot be modified unless the civil servant concerned decides otherwise.
Safety and Hygiene: Public institutions are obliged to provide civil servants with appropriate hygiene conditions so as to protect their health and physical integrity.
Mobility on Health Grounds: For health reasons, civil servants may change departments if he/she meets the requirements in order to carry out the new job, maintaining the class and level already held.
Right to State Benefits: Civil servants are entitled to medical care, prostheses and medications, retirement pension and other social security rights in accordance with the stipulations set out by law.
Training: Civil servants have the right and obligation to permanently improve their skills and training. Authorities and public institutions are obliged to provide in their annual budget the amounts to cover costs of professional training of civil servants. Civil servants who undertake professional training, whose term is over 90 days in a calendar year, in the country or abroad, financed from the state budget or local budgets, are required to engage in writing to work in public administration from 2 to 5 years.
Remuneration
The remuneration system is established by law, on the basis of the following principles:
- a) unity, meaning that covers all categories of staff salaries in the budgetary sector, taking into account the rights of some salaries established by special laws;
- b) supremacy of law, meaning that the salaries are established only by legal rules with the force of a law;
- c) taking into account of all salary rights legally acquired before the Law of uniform payroll of personnel paid from public funds (1st of January 2010);
- d) equity and consistency, by creating equal opportunities and equal pay for work of equal value, based on uniform principles and rules on the establishment and provision of salary and other salary rights for the personnel working in the budgetary sector;
- e) financial sustainability, by establishing salary increases based on annual special laws, so that the share of budgetary personnel’s salary costs in GDP to gradually move to a sustainable level.
Remuneration is made up of a basic salary, long service allowance, bonuses and other salary rights, according to the law.
Social dialogue and system of representation
Every year, the public authorities and institutions conclude, according to the law, agreements with the representative unions on improving working conditions, health and safety at work, working hours, professional training and other measures regarding the safety of people holding leadership positions in unions.
In the public authorities and institutions joint committees are constituted within an equal number of representatives appointed by the leader of the public authority or institution and representatives appointed by the union.
Joint committees are consulted in the following situations:
- a) at the establishment of the activity improvement measures of public authorities and institutions;
- b) at the establishment of any measures regarding professional training, if the cost of the training is covered from budgetary funds;
- c) at the establishment of working hours;
- d) other situations stipulated by the law.
Joint committees permanently monitor the fulfilment of agreements between the public authorities and institutions and the unions. Joint committees issue advisory opinions. For contract employees, public authorities and institutions conclude collective labour contracts.
Senior high civil servants
There are 311 Senior (High) Civil Servants in Romania. The Senior (High) Civil Service comprises officials such as Secretary-Generals, Deputy Secretary-Generals, Prefects, Sub-prefects and Government Inspector from Central Administration and Prefectures.
Assessments take place annually for specific appraisals and biannually for a general evaluation of professional knowledge, abilities and aptitudes required to occupy a SCS position.
The special training programme is provided by the National Agency for Civil Servants (NACS). Participants may choose between two specialisations: Modern Governance and Local Development and European Public Business Management. The NACS has introduced a new Leadership specialization. (Summary Table).
Recent Reforms and Prospects
Romania has recently reformed the pay system for civil servants and all personnel paid from budgetary funds by adopting the Law of uniform payroll of personnel paid from public funds (operating since the 1st of January 2010).