The Minister of Defense, Vasile Dincu, officially announced the signing of a draft emergency ordinance that brings a series of important changes for the Romanian Army, but also other employees of the ministry, or of other institutions in the defense system, public order, or security national.
Minister Dincu explains below that Romania has a strategic objective of having a high-performing army, especially in this period, and apart from the provision of the latest generation equipment, it is important that the living conditions of the soldiers are improved.
"On Tuesday, May 24, I signed a draft emergency ordinance that seeks to improve and update some provisions in the field of salaries and ensuring other financial rights of personnel from the Ministry of National Defense and from other institutions in the system of defense, public order and national security, but also the elimination of some inequities and differences in treatment in ensuring the financial rights of staff from these institutions compared to other categories of employees in the public system.
In order to achieve the strategic objective of providing Romania with the high-performance army it needs so much at this moment, in addition to providing the latest generation equipment, which has already begun to be equipped with the Romanian military structures, it is essential to also focus on improving working conditions and lives of our military - active, reserve or retired, civilian employees of our ministry, as well as their families.
High-level professional performance must be motivated by working conditions at the level of other NATO armies, by a decent salary system and by ensuring financial rights in a fair way, which reflects the importance of the missions that these people have.
From the analyzes carried out at the MApN level, as well as from the discussions I had with the ministry's staff in the units I visited during these first six months of my mandate, it clearly emerged that there are significant staff shortages, that we have problems serious in terms of the retention of highly specialized staff. In the absence of timely and effective measures, these problems will worsen over time.
Not only the security context, but especially the respect we owe to the career soldiers and civilian personnel of the Romanian Army and the entire national security system for the sacrifices they make day by day, forces us to act now. This draft emergency ordinance is only a first step in achieving this goal."
