The government intends to review the highest salaries and compensation packages in government agencies and state-owned companies. However, this does not involve either a general reduction in public sector pay or the immediate establishment of a uniform cap. The main measures will affect approximately 100 of the largest compensation packages, the heads of certain organizations, members of administrative boards, and the bonus calculation system.
The review was prompted by an analysis of compensation at 125 government agencies, regulatory bodies, state-owned enterprises, and companies with state capital. These entities employ 39,796 people.
The data shows that high salaries are concentrated in a relatively narrow range of positions. Eighty-five point eight percent of employees earn up to 20,000 lei net: 55.6% earn less than 10,000 lei, and another 30.2% earn between 10,000 and 20,000 lei. Salaries ranging from 20,000 to 30,000 lei are earned by 8.9%, and those ranging from 30,000 to 50,000 lei by 4.3%.
A total of 439 people—or 1.1% of employees at the organizations analyzed—earn more than 50,000 lei net per month. This group includes 152 people with salaries exceeding 80,000 lei. Therefore, these two figures cannot be added together: the 152 employees are part of the group of 439 people.
At the same time, the analysis does not cover the entire public sector. Its results cannot be automatically extrapolated to all public-sector employees, including teachers, doctors, social workers, and local government employees. The average net salary in the sample studied was about 11,900 lei, and the median was approximately 9,000 lei. This means that half of the employees earn less than 9,000 lei, while high salaries significantly raise the average.
The highest concentration of high salaries was recorded in independent regulatory bodies. The National Bank of Moldova (NBM), the National Financial Market Commission (CNPF), the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE), and the National Agency for Electronic Communications Regulation—account for 1,005 employees, or 2.5% of the total workforce. However, these agencies account for 180 of the 439 positions with salaries exceeding 50,000 lei.
Another 130 such positions are at state-owned enterprises, 51 at companies with state capital, 47 at public institutions, and 31 at project implementation units. The NBM and the state-owned enterprise MoldATSA alone account for 226 of the 439 highest-paying positions—more than half of the total.
The government proposes to begin by reviewing approximately 100 of the largest compensation packages. The assessment will cover not only fixed salaries but also bonuses, financial assistance, profit-sharing payments, company vehicles, housing, preferential loans, insurance, and other benefits associated with the position.
For the duration of the review, it is proposed to suspend the approval of new annual and one-time bonuses for positions with compensation exceeding three times the national average salary. With the projected average monthly salary for 2026 set at 17,400 lei, the benchmark is 52,200 lei. However, existing legal or contractual obligations will not be canceled.
There remains methodological ambiguity here. Government statistics are presented based on net salaries, whereas the projected average salary for the economy is typically calculated as the gross amount. The mechanism for comparing these indicators must be clarified in regulatory acts.
Heads and deputy heads of certain institutions and companies whose salaries exceed the established threshold will lose their annual financial benefits. In 2026, officials serving on the administrative boards of state-owned companies will not be able to receive compensation from net profits in excess of the standard fee for attending meetings.
More far-reaching changes will affect the management of state-owned enterprises. The government proposes reducing administrative boards to three members as a rule, and to five in justified cases. A single official will be allowed to represent the state on only one board and for no more than two terms, and their monthly compensation is planned to be capped at one minimum wage—which will be 6,300 lei in 2026.
In small companies that are not of strategic importance, boards may be abolished entirely. The proposal also calls for eliminating audit committees, requiring companies to disclose their compensation structures, and establishing measurable performance metrics in advance for the payment of bonuses to executives. Illegal payments will have to be repaid.
However, the government’s authority varies depending on the organization’s status. In subordinate agencies, state-owned enterprises, and companies with state participation, it may act as a founder or shareholder. The BNM, the CNPF, the ANRE, and the telecommunications regulator have autonomous or independent status. The government cannot change their compensation policies by administrative order; therefore, proposals regarding these entities will be directed to their governing bodies and to Parliament.
A high salary in and of itself does not prove the existence of misconduct. Financial regulators, aviation, energy, and technology organizations compete for specialists with banks, telecommunications companies, and the international market. A blanket reduction in pay could make it difficult to hire and retain qualified employees.
The weakness of the current system lies elsewhere: executives can sometimes influence the determination of their own compensation, boards do not exercise sufficient oversight over management, and restrictions are circumvented through bonuses, perks, and profit-sharing payments. In the six executive contracts examined, the linking of bonuses to performance existed in name only; performance metrics were not always set in advance, and mechanisms for forfeiting bonuses or repaying payments remained inadequate.
The published materials do not yet include an estimate of potential savings. Given that only 1.1% of employees in the sample studied earn a salary above 50,000 lei, this reform is unlikely to significantly reduce the government’s overall labor costs. Its actual outcome will be determined not by the number of salaries cut, but by whether it succeeds in making compensation transparent, eliminating payments without verified results, and at the same time maintaining competitive pay for truly complex and responsible work.