Moldova plans public sector pay rises from January 2027
Moldova’s government is due to examine a draft public sector pay reform on November 12, proposing higher base salaries and tighter rules for bonuses from January 1, 2027.
The proposed changes cover teachers, civil servants, mayors, judges, prosecutors and other public sector employees. They would increase base salaries while introducing stricter rules for performance bonuses, occupational allowances and one-off awards.
A simpler pay system to reduce salary gaps
The new pay structure aims to narrow salary differences between employees performing similar duties. According to the Ministry of Finance, the current system, introduced in 2018, has become increasingly complicated because of numerous exemptions and additional payments.
In some cases, employees holding identical positions and having the same salary coefficients can receive salaries that differ by 30% to 40%, solely because different reference values apply to their positions.
The current system uses 10 reference values, ranging from 1,400 to 4,700 lei. From 2027, their number would be reduced to six, ranging from 4,200 to 6,900 lei.
A salary reference value is multiplied by the coefficient assigned to each position to determine its base salary. The new values would be established through the 2027 state budget law.
Teachers and school staff set for higher salaries
In general education, the reference value would increase from 2,500 to 4,200 lei. Salary coefficients would also change. Under the proposed pay scale, the coefficient for a teacher would fall from 3.16 to 2.67.
However, the higher reference value does not translate into an equivalent increase in monthly pay. Teachers currently receive a fixed monthly allowance of 1,300 lei, in addition to their salaries and allowances for teaching qualifications. From 2027, this fixed payment would be incorporated into the new pay scale rather than granted separately.
According to salary simulations, the gross monthly base remuneration of a teacher without a teaching qualification grade could increase from 10,780 to 12,335 lei, representing a rise of approximately 14%.
Teachers holding teaching qualification grades are also expected to receive increases, although the amounts would vary according to their salary category.
Some auxiliary school staff would receive larger percentage increases. The salaries of childcare assistants and kindergarten assistants could rise by approximately 32%, while head cooks could see increases of around 37%.
Higher salaries for mayors, state leaders and magistrates
The proposed reform also provides for salary increases for mayors, senior state officials, judges and prosecutors. In some cases, monthly base salaries could increase by several thousand or even tens of thousands of lei, depending on the position.
The gross base salary of the general mayor of Chisinau, currently calculated at approximately 29,000 lei under the existing pay scale, could reach around 40,000 lei in 2027. The same base salary is proposed for the Governor of Gagauzia.
Mayors of localities with up to 3,000 residents would receive a proposed monthly base salary of approximately 22,000 lei.
Those heading localities with between 3,001 and 5,000 residents could receive around 24,000 lei, while mayors of towns and villages with populations between 5,001 and 10,000 could earn approximately 26,000 lei.
In localities with more than 10,000 residents, monthly base salaries could reach almost 29,000 lei.
Under the current pay scale, comparable positions carry base salaries ranging from approximately 16,000 to 18,000 lei.
Substantial increases are also planned for the country's top officials. Based on the proposed salary coefficients and reference values, the gross monthly base salary of Moldova's president could rise from approximately 22,300 to nearly 55,700 lei.
The same base salary is proposed for the speaker of Parliament. For both positions, the reference value used in calculating salaries would increase from 1,400 to 5,300 lei.
The proposed changes would also affect judges and prosecutors.
Salary simulations indicate that the base salary of a territorial prosecutor who has not passed the external vetting process could increase from approximately 23,300 to 28,600 lei. For a judge in the corresponding category, it could rise from around 29,700 to 34,300 lei.
Increases are also envisaged for judges and prosecutors who have passed external vetting. The base salary of a prosecutor in this category could rise from approximately 31,300 to 37,700 lei, while that of a judge could increase from around 35,500 to 42,500 lei per month.
All these figures represent estimated gross base salaries calculated under the proposed pay scales. They do not reflect employees' take-home pay after taxes and mandatory social contributions.
Performance bonuses to become more selective
One of the main changes concerns the way performance bonuses are awarded.
According to the Ministry of Finance, nearly 99% of public sector employees are currently eligible for these additional payments. In nine of the 12 occupational subgroups analysed, eligibility reaches 100%.
The authorities argue that performance bonuses have effectively become a guaranteed component of salaries, rather than reflecting employees' individual results.
Under the proposed general mechanism, employees receiving a "very good" rating in their latest quarterly or semi-annual performance assessment could qualify for a bonus of 5% to 7% of their base salary. Those rated "excellent" could receive between 10% and 15%.
The actual percentage awarded would be determined under rules approved by the Government, taking into account the available institutional funding.
The draft sets an annual funding ceiling of 4% of an institution's total annual base salary fund for performance bonuses.
Employees serving disciplinary sanctions would not qualify for these bonuses for the duration of the sanction. If a court subsequently annuls the disciplinary decision, the withheld performance bonus would be paid in accordance with the law.
A separate mechanism would apply to employees in the education and research occupational group. Their performance bonuses would be governed by specific sectoral rules approved by the Government, while remaining subject to the 4% institutional funding ceiling.
Caps on occupational allowances and one-off awards
The reform would also introduce three annual funding ceilings for specific occupational allowances: 10%, 20% and 30% of the annual base salary fund of eligible employees, depending on their professional category.
The 10% ceiling would apply to education, research, culture, youth, sport and social assistance, as well as certain designated staff involved in parliamentary oversight and regulatory activities.
The 20% limit would cover defence, state security and public order personnel, including the prison administration system, as well as designated staff in anti-corruption, strategic communications and crisis management institutions.
The 30% ceiling would apply to specifically designated categories, including personnel involved in counterterrorism operations, medical staff, certain anti-corruption investigators, tax and customs officials, civil aviation regulators and cybersecurity specialists.
These percentages represent annual institutional funding limits, not individual allowances guaranteed to employees. Specific allowances would compensate for additional effort or risks associated with particular working conditions and would be paid in proportion to the time actually spent performing those duties.
Employees in the information technology occupational group would not qualify for these specific allowances.
In addition, the combined annual expenditure on performance bonuses and specific occupational allowances could not exceed 30% of an institution's total annual base salary fund.
The draft would also tighten the rules governing one-off awards.
The annual funding allocated for these awards would be capped at 2% of an institution's annual payroll. Each award would be granted as a fixed amount, equal for all employees of the institution, regardless of their employment status or occupational category.
The cumulative value of one-off awards received by an employee could not exceed 10,000 lei per calendar year. Employees serving disciplinary sanctions would not qualify for these payments while the sanctions remain valid.
The annual award would also be capped at 20% of an employee's base salary, down from the current 50% limit. It would depend on the institution's annual performance and the employee's actual working time. Employees whose professional performance was assessed as ineffective or unsatisfactory, or who received disciplinary sanctions during the relevant year, would not qualify.
Nearly 45,000 public employees need compensation to reach minimum wage
Another issue identified by the authorities is the large number of public sector employees whose salaries, calculated under the existing pay scale, fall below the guaranteed minimum level.
In 2026, approximately 44,651 public sector employees, representing 19.7% of the total, require compensatory payments to bring their salaries up to the minimum of 6,300 lei.
According to Ministry of Finance estimates, the new pay scale would reduce this proportion to 14.1% in 2027. The average monthly compensation per position could also fall from 1,183 to 450 lei.
The draft provides safeguards for employees whose earnings could decrease as a result of the revised calculation formula.
If the total salary entitlements established under the new rules are lower than an employee's reference average monthly earnings, the difference would be covered through a compensatory payment, subject to the conditions set out in the law.
The reference average would be calculated using the employee's relevant salary entitlements during the previous 12 months, where applicable.
The safeguard is intended to prevent nominal reductions in existing employees' earnings. However, it does not guarantee that all allowances and benefits available under the previous system will be retained.
The cost of public sector pay reform
The proposed salary increases would entail significant additional expenditure from public funds.
According to the explanatory note accompanying the draft legislation, total public sector staffing costs are estimated at 32.79 billion lei in 2026.
For 2027, the Ministry of Finance estimates total staffing costs at approximately 37.4 billion lei under the scenario involving a reduction in employers' social security contributions to 24%. This represents an increase of approximately 4.61 billion lei compared with 2026.
The explanatory note also presents an alternative scenario based on a 29% employer contribution rate, under which the projected 2027 cost would reach 37.52 billion lei.
The estimates therefore account for both the salary reform and changes to employers' social security contributions. The Ministry of Finance says the projections could be adjusted depending on budgetary decisions and other measures scheduled for implementation.
The reform is planned for 2026–2032 and would be introduced gradually. Alongside the salary increases scheduled for January 1, 2027, the authorities aim to reduce the number of reference values from six to four by 2032.
According to the explanatory note, the reform would affect approximately 227,000 public sector employees.
The reform was initially scheduled to take effect on September 1, 2026. However, the authorities postponed the introduction of the new pay scales until January 1, 2027, citing pressure on public finances caused by economic and energy shocks, as well as the need to secure sufficient funding for the increases.
On August 19, Prime Minister Vasile Tofan apologised for the missed deadline and pledged that the new salaries would be introduced at the beginning of the following year.
To compensate for the postponement, the government announced one-off payments ranging from 2,000 to 4,000 lei for eligible public sector employees earning less than 20,000 lei in gross monthly salary.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
RELATED COVERAGE
