A no-confidence motion tabled by the opposition, after the Government had sought a vote of confidence over the framework public sector wage law, read by deputy Carmen Moldovan from the Alliance of Social Democrats and Conservatives at a plenary sitting of Parliament on Monday, is to be debated and voted on on Thursday, Dec. 23.

The motion initiators argue that the planned legislation dramatically cuts the public workers' earnings and their purchasing power; they stress that the cut in the income of 1.29 million public sector staff leads to curbed consumption, curbed production of goods and services and ultimately plunges Romania deeper into crisis and into economic decline in 2011 and in the next years.

The opposition believes that the real goal of the draft law is to cut the expenditure incurred by the public wages.

According to the motion text, the new law finally cuts the public workers' basic wages by 25 percent, while the draft framework public wage law does not have the approval of the trade unions and the Economic and Social Council, that had been unable to meet due to a lack of quorum.

The motion signatories argue that the new law increases the ratio of the basic minimum and maximum public wage from 1 to 12 to 1 to 15, contrary to the public statements and to the disadvantage of the low public sector earners.

The wage law was not debated with the opposition parties, which had been thus prevented from expressing their constructive and objective viewpoints for the improvement of the legal framework, the signatories of the motion of censure say.

Therefore, the opposition considers that the law put forward by the Government does not meet the legislative technique requirements, it fails to provide an objective and modern pay framework and one that should be an incentive for the public workers.

When the Government takes responsibility for laws, they are considered passed without being debated by the legislature if a vote of no-confidence is not filed in three days or if such vote does not pass. If the motion of censure passes, the Government is dismissed.