On the other hand, mayors and county council chairpersons claim they have a deficit of personnel in their institutions, and cannot see how they could implement the government’s request. Some of them are even crying local autonomy, adding that government representatives cannot dictate how institutions included in the local administration system are organized.

Deputy Prime Minister Dan Nica said after the meeting with local authorities at the end of last week that it was decided during talks that each locality will be allowed a certain number of clerks, depending on the population it serves. Nica added that the local authorities are free not to abide by the established personnel grids, in which case financial allocations from the state budget will be cut off. “If you want to be autonomous and decide how many people you have, that is fine. However you will not see one leu from the state budget,” Nica indicated.

But the mayors of some large cities in Romania said they will not lay off staff and that the number of employees they have is sufficient to ensure high quality services.

“Boc or Pogea [Minister of Finance Gheorghe Pogea] cannot come and tell me how many people to recruit,” the Mayor of Constanţa, Radu Mazăre, said.

Trade unions in administration said that these personnel reductions will be made in a chaotic manner, based on political criteria, which will make the exercising of the public function more difficult. Such staff cuts are due to save the budget some €125 million.